Fated
by fairytellerxo
Summary: When the woman whose heart he broke nearly ten years ago, turns up in Charming, Juice Ortiz can't help but believe that this is fate giving him a second chance at making it work. Will he be able to make Bri see that he's changed his ways and that they are fated to be together? Or will he fall into old habits and break her all over again?
1. Chapter 1 Ride

**This story isn't related to any of my other stories although the character names are the same. **

**As most of you guys know, I had another story called FATED which is now titled A Jaded Fantasy. I chose to name this story because it makes more sense. This is my take of Bri &amp; Juice reuniting and their journey to see if they are actually Fated to end up together. So enjoy. **

* * *

Bri Hohrykova sat up with a groan, her grey eyes trying to adjust to the dim light of her surroundings. She looked to her left and rolled her eyes at the half naked blonde beside her on the pool table. She smacked the woman's ass and laughed as she woke with a giant start. "Can you make me some coffee sweetheart?"

"Uh, yeah sure." The blonde rolled off the table and smiled at the brunette. "Last night was fun."

"Yeah it was." Bri nodded, having no true recollection of what she did with the woman. She looked down at herself and she was in her bra and panties, a cut on. "Jesus." She swung her long legs over the edge and dropped to the floor, slowly shrugging out of the leather. "Prospect." She held it up before tossing it away on the table.

She padded down the hallway, looking for the bathroom when she smacked into a solid wall.

"Watch it." The voice gritted out as he turned around. "Oh, it's you." He eyed her intently.

"Sorry." Bri shrugged. "I'm just looking for the bathroom, I gotta tinkle so damn badly." She crossed her legs and did her best tinkle dance.

Juice bit back a smirk. "Right there, you may want to put shoes on before you go in there, no telling what's on that damn floor."

"Damn." The brunette frowned before turning around and walking back out towards the table, hoping her sneakers would be there. "Yes!" She found them along with her jeans. She tugged the jeans on before doing the same with the sneakers.

"Nice ink." Juice pointed to the full sleeve she had on her left arm. The Brianna he remembered didn't care for tattoos or body modification. As his eyes raked over her, he spotted the belly button ring and a tattoo in the middle of her back, it looked like a snake and a skull.

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled as she walked past him, the urge of needing to pee sweeping over her again as she walked into the bathroom. Glad she put on shoes as she felt them stick to the floor. "Gross." She quickly used the restroom and washed her hands, she pushed the door open with her hip and shook her hands out before drying them on her jeans. She padded out to the barroom and sat down.

"Here's your coffee." The blonde smiled and gave the brunette a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Yes, of course." Bri smiled and watched the half naked blonde traipse down the hallway.

"Since when do you like girls Brianna?" He looked at her as he drank his usual morning green shake. "You were all about dick back in high school."

Bri sipped the coffee and shrugged. "College changed me, got to explore a whole new side of my sexuality... Only had one serious girlfriend though, she dumped me for a dude."

Juice frowned at the sad look on the brunette's beautiful face. He had seen it hundreds of times in the past and it still had the power to make his heart drop to his feet. "That sucks."

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes and finished off the coffee. "I should get going soon, you think Kozik is up? I need a ride back to Oakland, I have to prep for work and whatnot."

"Probably not, the clubhouse is usually dead until late afternoon after a huge party like last night." Juice set his empty cup down. "I'll give you a lift."

"Yeah, right." She laughed. "I'm not getting on the back of a bike with you! I don't trust you like that _Juice._"

"Why not? You know I wouldn't hurt you Brianna." He winced at his own words, realizing he had hurt her. "You know what I mean..."

"I'll think about it but I honestly probably would ask Happy for a ride and I'm terrified of him for some reason." She tossled her own hair and chuckled. "You think they're finished having sex?"

"Probably not..." He shook his head and stared at the beauty before him. Her eyes were as grey as ever, her lips fuller, her cheekbones just as magnificent as he remembered them to be.

_"What are you doing Juan Carlos?" Bri giggled as he continued to kiss her face all over. "Huh?" _

_"Admiring your beauty babe!" He smiled and kissed her soft lips. "You're so gorgeous Bri."_

_"You are too Juan Carlos." She smiled up at him, her fingers tugging his short black hair. "I hope we're together forever." _

_"Yeah, me too." He nodded as he tapped his index fingers on her cheekbones. _

"...Earth to Ortiz..." Bri waved her hand in front of the zoned out man sitting in front of her. "You there?" She stood up and moved closer to him. "Hello."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." Juice nodded and looked at her, his eyes falling to her ample cleavage. "I just got lost in my memories there."

"I can see that." She shook her head and pulled her phone from her jeans. "I'm going to step outside, see if I can't get Aleksandr to come and pick me up from here."

"Aleksandr?" Juice shuddered at the name. The last time he saw the man, he was being chased down the snowy streets of Queens, praying the Russian wouldn't follow through with his threat of putting a bullet in his head. "He still your babysitter."

"He's my dad..." She trailed off as she listened to the line ring over and over before the man picked up. "I need a ride home... Jacey is sleep, yeah, yeah. I don't know Charming, yeah the Sons of Anarchy." She rolled her eyes and slid her phone into her pocket.

"He sending a car?" Juice tapped his fingers on the bar top.

"No, I'm on my own." She laughed as she started stretching her arms and legs. "I'm at the mercy of J and whenever she can pull herself off of Happy."

"I can take you." Juice tossed out his offer again. "I'm sorry I was an ass to you last night. I was caught off guard and..."

"Hate to show your emotions when you feel weak so you turn into a giant asshole and start slinging out shit you don't mean." Bri looked at him, her eyebrow cocked in a challenge. "I know you Juan Carlos."

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "So do you want the ride or not Brianna?"

"Sure." She rolled her eyes. "I have to leave Jacey a note or something before I leave, don't need her thinking I ran off or some shit."

"I'll be outside by my bike when you're ready to leave." He stood from his stool and walked out of the clubhouse, a small smile on his handsome face. He was determined to win her back, starting with a bike ride.

**SOA**

Bri slid off the back of Juice's bike, her legs still vibrating as she handed him the helmet back. She had only been on the back of one bike in her life and that was when she practically begged Marcus Alvarez to show her how to ride his beast of a Harley. "Thanks for the lift Juice." She internally grimaced at his dumb ass name.

"Yeah, you live here?" Juice eyed the massive house behind the dark haired woman. "This is a nice ass set up, that gun money must be good..."

She shrugged, realizing he still had no clue about what her family actually did or if he knew, he was doing a damn good job of playing dumb. "Yeah, the arms business is really booming." She twirled her hair around her finger before realizing she was still wearing the hoody he let her borrow. "Here." She quickly shed it and passed it back to him.

"Keep it, give it to me the next time we see each other." He waved it away. "I know how Aleksandr gets..."

"Who says we'll even see each other again?" She pulled the sweatshirt back on, her nostrils breathing in his scent that wasn't too different from when he was in high school.

He shrugged. "You're Jacey's friend, we're bound to cross paths with each other again. I'll catch you later Brianna."

"Bye." She moved back and watched him take off down the street and disappear into the distance before jogging up the steps and letting herself into her home.

"Who was that?" Aleksandr stood in the foyer, his arms crossed over his barrel chest. "Huh Katarzyna?"

"Juice, he just have me a lift home." She stared up at him. "I need a shower, can we talk about it later?"

"No." He shook his head. "He looked familiar, tell me who he is."

"Juan Carlos." She whispered and looked at her feet. Feeling foolish that she was about to be lectured at the ripe age of twenty five.

Aleksandr dragged a large hand over his face. "Repeat that Katarzyna, I think I may have misheard you my dear."

"Juan Carlos." She repeated louder as she waited for his anger to boil over an moment. "From high school."

"Have you lost your mind?" He grabbed her chin and made her face him. "Did you forget everything he did to you!?"

"It was only a ride!" She sighed. "I didn't forget anything he did! How could I ever forgive him for all that shit he pulled on me!? I'm not stupid and I'm not who I was back then. I needed a ride and Jacey was busy. So I accepted one from him, it won't happen again believe me."

The brute nodded. "Alright, I trust you on this Katarzyna. I just don't need you like you were back then... I've never been more terrified of anything more than I was afraid of losing you back then. I'm just happy you turned it all around and got your head back on straight. I need you to keep it on straight. You hear me?"

"Yes." Bri nodded, her fingers running over the scars that the ink on her left arm hid. Reminders of the lowest time in her life, a time she didn't think like was worth living anymore. "That was a one time thing, I'll never get that bad anymore." She hugged him tightly and smiled. "I love you dad."

Aleksandr smiled. "I love you too." He kissed the top of her head. "Go shower, then eat something. There's fresh desserts in the kitchen. I have to go run some errands with Elijah."

Brianna smiled and started up the acrylic steps. "Don't do anything stupid! I can't afford to bail you out of jail." She laughed.

"I won't." He mumbled as he checked his guns. He had searched long and hard for Juan Carlos, now it was time to pay him a much needed visit.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. (:**

**Shout out to my love Bray(outlawqueeenn) whose brilliance sparked the idea for this story.**

**Check out her lovely story Trite Escapism. Also thanks to her, I am blessed with being able to add her amazing OC Jacey Teller in this story. (: **


	2. Chapter 2 Mutually Beneficial

Juice tossed his keys and wallet on the table by his front door, he walked further in, shrugged out of his cut, placing it on the hook as he stepped out of his boots. His mind was still wrapped around Bri being back in his life that he hadn't taken notice of the two burly men on his sofa.

"Juan Carlos." The voice boomed through the silence, causing the biker to instinctively to reach for the gun in the waistband of his grey cargo. "Think twice."

"What the fuck? How'd you get in here? Better yet, how'd you know where I live?" He looked at the man. "Aleksandr..."

Aleksandr shrugged. "I'm stealth for my size." He chuckled. "I'm here because, you dropped Bri off... That shit doesn't sit right with me... I don't give a fuck if she's forgiven you for the past..."

"She hasn't." Juice shook his head. "Giving her a lift home, getting her to agree to that was like pulling out a tooth without novocaine... It wasn't easy by any means. Pretty sure she would have walked to her house."

The Russian rolled his eyes and holstered his gun. "I don't you near her... You have no fucking clue what you did to her, how bad she got after that baby bombshell."

"It wasn't my kid, not even sure there was ever really a kid. It was some scheme to finally break me and Brianna up." Juice dropped to his sofa, rubbing his hands over his head. "How bad was it? How bad did she get?" He looked up at the man, a twisted look on his face. "Please tell me..."

Aleksandr looked at the young man. "She got so bad, she didn't think life was worth living." He nodded at Elijah. "That's all I'm telling you, don't you think I'll make this easy for you... If you for one second believe I'll allow you to just come back into her life and repeat the shit, think twice... This time you're grown and when I chase you down, I will be following through with the promise to put a bullet in your head."

Juice nodded and watched the two men leave, hearing the message loud and clear as the front door slammed and he was left to sink into his recliner and sulk. He was still letting the information seep in, the one person who had loved him unconditionally was the person he pushed over the edge. "Fuck." He smacked the arms of his recliner.

* * *

Bri stood in front of her full length mirror, frowning. She had to be to work in a an hour and was still wrapped in her favorite Kuromi bath towel as she held up different options to wear. "No and definitely no." She tossed the articles of clothing to the floor and padded back to her walk in closet. She needed to scream doctor, better yet she needed to scream future world renowned cosmetic surgeon.

She pulled her red pant suit from the hanger and smiled. "Red is a power color." She smiled and thought briefly of her mom, who wore nothing but red for a year. She pulled on her bra and panties before slipping into the suit and grabbing her favorite black clutch off the island in the mild of the massive walk in closet.

"Katarzyna." Aleksandr walked into the room and frowned at the mess. "You're going to be a doctor but you're so messy my girl, what is the meaning of that?"

Bri shrugged. "Did you kill him yesterday?"

"No." He shook his head and began picking up the clothes from the floor, a task he had done since she was three and started picking out her own outfits. "You went from tutus to whatever these are." He held up a pair of distressed jeans and rolled his eyes.

"Why not?" She sat at her vanity and began to apply her favorite natural make up look. "He run from you again?"

"Nope." Aleksandr folded the clothes and set them on the bed. "He didn't run from me... I told him how bad you got, hope it'll make him think twice about trying shit with you again and breaking your heart."

"There's really nothing left to break." She paused and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "After him, that bullshit with Daniela... You think there's really anything left of my heart to break? You think I have anything else to give to anyone?"

He nodded and walked behind the sad young woman. "I believe you have a lot more to give than you believe you do my dear." He kissed the top of her head and smiled. "You have so much more in there, just going to take the right person to find it."

Bri shrugged. "I guess... I just have shit ass luck with relationships and picking people."

"I can tell, Juan, Daniela, the Swiss boy toy in the guesthouse that you probably forgot all about." He laughed.

"I didn't forget about him." She chuckled. "He's my new head of security, I can't have my dad following me around all the damn time..."

"That reminds me... Your actual father will be in town visiting and he has asked you to dinner." He shrugged, remembering all the countless nights he held the brunette when her real dad failed to be just that, a dad. "Should I say yes?"

"No, I haven't seen him since my ex passed away." She frowned. "I still haven't forgiven him for marrying me off to a man nearly three times my age. That was a terrible experience and I will forever bear the mark of that."

"I will tell him." Aleksandr nodded. "Have fun at work, you look stunning in that suit. I love you."

"I love you too." Bri smiled. "I want to be taken serious at work, so many men and I'm the only female. That shit is so so hard but I'm so determined to be a surgeon and see it through. This is my dream and I want it to come true."

**SOA**

Bri swiveled around in her office chair, her phone in her hands as she sent a text to her friend. She needed his company and she needed it bad. She just hoped he would down to slide through and keep her company until she got off work. Again, she had been saddled with mindless paperwork duties.

"Miss Hohrykova." The woman cleared her throat. "I have more files for you to put away."

"That's fine, add them to the pile please and thank you." Bri pointed at the massive stack she had been procrastinating on. She had reorganized everything in her drawers, hooked and unhooked all the paper clip a, folded her post its into cute hearts, and even managed to rid the office copier of the ever present paper jam.

"Miss Hohrykova." The man's voice caused the brunette to look up and smirk at the man in the doorway. "You have your own office?"

"It's more of a box but yeah." She nodded. "You got here very fast, I didn't even think you would come..."

"Why?" He sat in the chair and kicked his feet up onto the desk. "I was at Jacey's place."

"Yeah, well I thought it was just a one time thing you and I... Don't want to force a friendship if you don't want one with me." She stared into his blue eyes and smirked. "Kozik."

"Brianna." He dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward. "I hope this friendship ship will be mutually beneficial, because that night, that was some of the best sex I've had in a very long time... Not too often do I come across a woman as gorgeous and as kinky as you."

"Is that so? I'm sure we can work something out." She gripped the front of his cut and captured his bottom lip between her teeth and bit softly. "You down to fool around in here?"

"Yeah." He cupped her face and kissed her deeply, his tongue snaking into her mouth as he moved his hands into her hair. He smirked as she moaned softly into his mouth, the desk now an annoyance as he ached to get his hands on her body. "No one will bug you right?" He stood up and moved to the door.

"Flip the sign and lock the door." Bri stood up and dropped her red suit jacket to the ground and sat on the edge of the desk.

Kozik didn't need to be told twice, he moved between her legs. His hands falling to her hips as his mouth found hers again, his tongue running over her lips before he sucked the tip of her tongue. "God... Even your mouth tastes good." He laughed and started to remove his cut when she stopped him and he shrugged back into it.

"Fuck me." Bri slid off the desk and quickly removed her pant and panties before sitting back on the edge. "Now...please?"

The spiky haired biker nodded and quickly dropped his pants, his cock springing free as he wrapped his arms around Bri's thighs and pulled her closer to the edge. With one fluid motion he was inside of her, watching her grip the desk and bite her lip to keep from making noise.

"Shit." Bri pushed the files to the ground and laid back onto the desk, her hands gripping the handsome man's forearms as he pounded into her. "So fucking good."

Kozik grunted as he slammed into the brunette, his hands snaked under her shirt and rubbed over her breasts, he wanted nothing more than to have her completely naked and full of lust on this desk. "Where have you been my whole life?" He bent down and lightly bit her neck, sending her first orgasm through her. He pinched and pulled on her nipples as she continued to shudder underneath him.

"F-f-fuck." Bri stammered out as she tried her best to keep quiet. "Oh my God." She clutched the desk as Kozik picked up his pace, she needed go desperately scream out and let him know how much she loved being fucked by him. "Oh shit." She bit her fist and clenched her eyes shut as she felt his fingers dig into her hips, no doubt leaving bruises behind.

"Fuck Brianna." Kozik slammed into her a few more times before finally emptying his seed into her. He bent over and rested on her, his ear to her chest as he listened to the rapid beat of her heart. "You don't even know how much I needed that."

"Same." She pushed him up and off of her. "I need to get my pants on." She slid off the desk, her legs feeling like jello as she pulled her panties and pants back on. "You think you'll be free tonight?"

"You just using me for sex Hohrykova? Huh?" Kozik watched the brunette fix her hair, her face flushed and red. "Tell me something, you and Juice... That shit anything right now? I don't want to be caught up in a love triangle."

Bri laughed. "Nah, I dated him back in Queens when we were in high school...shit didn't end well. He broke my heart but nothing is happening with him... I don't know if I could ever trust him again to give him yet another chance."

"Then yeah, I'll come over." He gave her a quick kiss. "How much longer until you're off work?"

"A few hours? You gonna stick around or you got what you needed?" She bent down and started to pick up the files that she pushed off the desk. "Unlock the door and flip the sign." She set the files on the desk and opened the window and sprayed a spritz of vanilla air freshener. "Don't need my office smelling of debauchery."

"Smelled fine to me." He dropped down to the chair and smiled. "You the secretary or what?"

"Nooo, they just treat me like I'm one! I'm an almost plastic surgeon." Bri opened a file and started going over it as the door opened up again. "Yeah?" She smiled at the woman in the doorway. "More files?"

"Yeah." The woman nodded and looked at Kozik then to Bri. "Dr. Samuel needs your assistance, so scrub in and meet him in OR 2."

"Sounds good." Bri took the files and set them on her desk before standing up. "What is he doing today?"

"Breast augmentation." The woman smiled. "Be there quickly."

"Awesome, this is my first time assisting with fake tits." Bri looked at Kozik. "We're still on for tonight yeah?"

"Yeah." He stood up and gave her a quick hug. "Don't fuck the boob job up, nothing worse than bad fake tits.",

"I'm excited!" The brunette closed the door behind them. "I'll text you the address... Bye." She smiled and watched him step into the elevator before heading towards the OR to scrub in and assist.

* * *

Juice pulled across the street from the house he dropped Bri off at the morning before. His hands clammy as he took the gloves off. He sat on his bike, trying to work up the courage to walk up and knock on the door. He exhaled as he heard the distinct rumble of a Dyna.

"What the fuck?" He watched as Kozik climbed off the bike and walked up the path. His mouth went dry and his heart fell to his feet as he watched Bri jump into the blonde's arms. He knew it would be even more difficult to win her over now if she was with another Son.

He slid back onto his bike, glancing once more at the house as the downstairs lights started turning off one by one. He started his bike and pulled away, leaving his heart behind as he wracked his brain. He needed to win her back, he desperately needed to.

* * *

**Let me know what you thought (:**


	3. Chapter 3 Angst

Bri stretched under the weight of Kozik, he was splayed out on top of her awkwardly. His head on her chest as he snored peacefully, she couldn't help but smile. They had spent the night fucking like horny teens but when they were resting, they were laughing and exchanging stories. "Herman." She dragged her nails over his bare back.

"I shouldn't have told you my name." He yawned and melted under her delicate touch.

"It's old school." Bri giggled and started playing with his hair. "Do you have to be at the clubhouse anytime soon?"

"Nope. You have to work any time soon?" He looked up at her.

"It's my day off." She smiled. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Hell yeah." He slid down her slender body as the intercom buzzed.

"Someone's here." She pressed the button on her nightstand. "Who's here? Anyone important?"

"Some man named Juice." Ingrid replied, her accent thick.

"I'll be down." Bri rolled her eyes and looked at the man between her legs. "I'll be right back."

"What's he even here for?" Kozik growled as he watched the brunette slip into a pair of leggings and a tight shirt that showed the impressions of her nipple piercings.

"I have no clue." She shrugged and gave the handsome blonde a quick kiss. "I'll be back..." She walked out of her bedroom, combing her fingers through her hair as she took the stairs swiftly.

"Hey..." Juice smiled at the brunette, his eyes taking in her soft curves before landing on her chest. "You have time to talk?"

"Not really, I have company." He bit her lip and looked at the stairs. "Why, what's up? Do you need your hoody back?"

"Nah." He smirked. "I want to ask you if you wanted to hang out? Maybe grab some food?"

"Seriously?" She tapped her fingers on her chin and stared at the man. "The nerve you have Juan Carlos." She flipped her hair and shook her head. "I don't think that's a smart idea, given out tattered past."

"I'm trying to make this shit between us okay again." He studied her expression and smiled. "Please? Just think about it, I will bug you every day until you say yes to the offer."

"I'll think about it." She moved away from him. "Ingrid will see you out. Have a good day Ortiz." She gave a small wave before jogging back up the the stairs and into her room. She slid back into bed, Kozik grabbing her before she slid off the other side.

"What'd he want?" He smiled as he slid his hands under her shirt and rubbed her soft skin.

"He asked me on a date, I said no." Bri pulled her shirt off. "I have no time for dates, especially not to date him. I don't think he's changed."

"Just sex with me." He smiled and blew raspberries on her chest. "You have the best pair of tits I've had the pleasure of playing with."

"You a tit man?" She clucked her tongue at the man as he rubbed his hands over her breasts, causing her to shudder slightly.

"I'm an ass man but your tits are so nice that I'm obsessed."He squeezed her thighs. "You're pretty much physically perfect, it's creepy."

"Shut up." She laughed. "You're dumb...Herm the Worm."

"Insulting my dick? It is far from the size of a damn worm." He crossed his arms. And feigned hurt as he turned his head away from the brunette straddling his legs. "Brianna Banana."

"I wasn't insulting this." She gripped his erection and started to slowly stroke, up and down. "It was the only rhyming words I could pull out. English is my third language so forgive me... Its Brianna not Brianna."

"It's Brianna Banana now." He groaned as she tightened her grip on his cock. "I say so... You're going to kill me with that damn pace."

"I'll try not to Herman." She smirked and moved so she was in between his legs. "Let the fun begin." She looked up at him and winked.

**SOA**

Bri laid on the chaise lounge by her pool, her eyes closed as she listened to Kozik splash around in the pool. "Don't drown." She mumbled as the splashing intensified.

"If I do, will I get mouth to mouth?" Kozik paused and looked at the brunette in the tiny purple bikini.

"Possibly." Bri shrugged and looked over at the man. "You really shouldn't stay in there much longer."

"It's perfect, I think I'll move in." He laughed and sat on the edge of the pool. Admiring the waterfall and the expanse of land. "So, what is it that your family does again? Guns?"

"Yup, arms dealer. One of the largest in the world... Government contracts and everything." The brunette flipped onto her stomach and untied her bikini top.

"Mafia too right?" He glanced at her, trying to gauge a reaction from Brianna. "Riiiight?"

"I don't know what you're talking about... That's a rumor the media likes to spread about us." She removed her sunglasses and dropped them to the table next to her. "We make our money legally."

"Yeah and I work a nine to five job." He moved to her side and shook the water off his body, drenching her in the process. "I have to head over to the clubhouse though, let the guys know that I'm not dead or whatever." He pressed a quick kiss to the tattoo on her back. "I'll hit you up later... Bye Brianna."

"Bye Herman." She watched him disappear back into the house before closing her eyes and settling in for an afternoon nap.

"Miss Hohrykova."

"Call me Bri." She sat up, her arms covering her chest. "What's up Eric?"

"I want to ask you if I can bring over my lady friend." He looked at his boss with an endearing smile.

"Yeah, I don't mind just don't bring her into the main house." She smiled up at him. "Have fun." She laid back down as he walked back towards the guest house.

* * *

Juice glared across the room at Kozik who was laughing and drinking with Happy and Opie. He wanted nothing more than to sock the blonde biker in his face, he didn't know what Kozik had to offer that was so much better than what he, himself had. He rolled his eyes and moved towards the bar, he needed something harder than the bud light he held.

"I'm just gonna grab this." Juice leaned over the bar and grabbed the bottle of jack. "Don't mind me."

"Don't knock out that whole bottle." Kozik eyed Juice. "Don't need you hungover tomorrow, you're working the early shift."

"Don't worry about me man." Juice growled at the blonde. "Just keep doing whatever the fuck you're doing Kozik."

Kozik held his hands up. "Relax man, I'm not trying to make you mad... Just don't want to be working with you if you're grumpy and hungover."

"Whatever." Juice mumbled and strolled out of the clubhouse clutching the bottle, he needed to be away from the club, and especially away from Kozik.

**SOA**

Juice took another swig of the brown liquor before slipping it into the black saddlebag on his Dyna. He looked up at the house and rolled his shoulders back as he moved towards the dwelling with purpose. He knew Bri was home, the expensive car with her initials on the back window tipped him off.

He hit the doorbell, once, twice, three times before it swung open violently. "Brianna!" He looked at her, a goofy smile on his face.

"What in the world?" Brianna crossed her arms. "What are you here for? Are you drunk?" She examined him before moving to allow him to enter the house.

"Maybe." He moved around her and stood at the stairs. "I just need to ask you something..."

Bri slammed the door. "Ask..."

"What's wrong with me? Why start some shit up with Kozik? Why get to know him when we can reconnect?" Juice stared at her.

She shrugged. "Like you always told me, it's just sex, it doesn't mean shit because it's not with you... What is the point of this shit? Juan, let me fucking know right here, right now!"

"I want another chance! I'm not who I was back then... I've grown up and changed, a lot." He grabbed her arms, his thumbs feeling the raised scars hidden under the ink. "Please? I'm sorry for that, all of it. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about how fucked up I was... I went back, back to Queens and you had disappeared, not even Giselle knew where you had up and left to."

Bri pulled her arms away. "I'll think about it... I can't make any promises to you though." She sighed. "You can sleep on the couch."

"Thanks." He smiled and watched the brunette disappear up the stairs before coming back down, a fur blanket in her arms.

"Here." She pushed it towards him. "It's been getting cold at night, you know I hate heaters..." She smirked. "Night."

"Night." He smiled and sat on the sofa, his mind wandering back to the first time he touched the blanket.

_"Juan Carlos!" Bri laughed as she bolted into her room to escape from his tickling. "Stop! Mercy!" She held her fur blanket up in front of her to try to ward off his advances. _

_"What is this?" He grabbed the blanket from her, his fingers running across the soft fur. "Is this rabbit?" _

_Bri crossed her arms and scoffed. "That's chinchilla!" She snatched it back wrapping it around her body. "How dare you insult my fur!?" _

_"I like it." He smirked and tackled her to the bed, burying his face in the soft blanket. The smell of rain washing over him, dropping him into a realm of complete and total bliss. "I love you Kat." _

_"I love you too Juan." She smiled at him. "No more tickles though!" _

Juice shook himself back into reality, his hands still rubbing the fur. He lifted it to his face, it still smelled like it had a decade ago. Like air after a rain storm, peaceful and serene. He kicked his boots off and settled on to the comfortable couch. "I love you Kat." He murmured as he closed his eyes.

**SOA**

"What are you wearing?" Juice asked Bri as he walked into the kitchen, he had been awoken by the smell of bacon and syrup.

"A bikini!" Bri smiled and pushed a plate of food towards him. "Isn't it to die for?" She twirled around as she bit a piece of bacon.

"Doesn't cover much." He shrugged and looked at the loaded plate of food in front of him. "Beach trip?"

"Yeah, yeah, possibly." She sipped on a pink smoothie and smiled as she looked into the backyard at the shimmering swimming pool. "You good to ride back to Charming right?"

He nodded slowly as he snacked on the piece of toast. "You should eat cleaner than this."

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. "Health freak or what?" She pulled open the fridge and grabbed a smoothie. "It's all natural and organic. Kale is not my green of choice but drink up."

"Thanks." He smiled and took a sip of the drink. "How'd you know?"

"Eh, I paid attention to that crap you drank at the clubhouse that morning. Thick and green." She shrugged. "I have to leave soon, so hurry up."

"Alright." He smiled and watched as she walked out of the kitchen. He scanned the massive kitchen, he pictured himself in it, fixing meals for them.

"You like dogs?" Bri looked at the man as she opened up the door and a big burly soft bounded it. "That's Monster, he's my new puppy."

"Puppy?" Juice looked at the massive canine. "What is it?"

"A mastiff." She rubbed the dog's head and smiled. "Cute right? So about last night..."

"I shouldn't have shown up like that... I just knew he wouldn't be here... So I took the shot." He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."

"How'd you know?" Bri fed the puppy the untouched bacon. "How'd you know I was with Kozik at all?"

"I rode past." He studied her face. "Saw him, you jumping into his arms."

"Oh." She dropped the food into the trash. "Creeper."

"I just wanted to see you, talk." Juice sighed. "I just never thought, I'd see you again."

"Yeah, same." She nodded. "But I have to meet a gorgeous blonde young woman soon, talk about boys and such so, leave." She smiled.

"I'm going." He stood up slowly. "Thanks for not kicking me out last night Bri."

"You know I'm a sucker for sad angst ridden Juan Carlos." She smiled and pointed at the door. "See you soon."

"Yeah, see you." He smiled and backed out of the kitchen. "Bye." He walked out of the Oakland house, his spirits high. The drunken stop in hadn't turned out so badly. He knew she would give in completely over time.

* * *

**as always, let me know what you thought of the chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4 Happy With A Kid

Bri smiled at the brunette standing before her. She hasn't been expecting this visit, but it was amazing. "Monica! Moni! My partner in crime!" She hugged the brunette, sweeping her off her feet.

"Bri!" Monica squealed as she was spun around. "Put me down!" The six year old laughed.

"Fancy seeing you here my love." Bri set her down and smiled. "You going to hang out with me for a few days?" She held her niece's hand as they walked up the clear stair case.

"Yeah auntie!" Monica smiled as she walked into the pink and purple guest room. "Is this my room?"

"Yes!" Bri nodded and dropped the girl's hand. "Had it done up in your favorite colors, didn't think you'd be visiting so soon though."

"It's so cool!" The tiny brunette ran around before jumping onto the four poster bed. "It has fairy lights!" She tried her hardest to touch the string of lights crisscrossing over the pink and purple canopy.

Bri smiled, she always felt like she was more of a mom to the young girl than an aunt. "I have to talk to my friend, you want to come with me? She's blonde, like a Barbie, her name is Jacey."

"Yes!" She smiled. "I have to change first, okay?"

"Alright, I bought you some new clothes. I know how much you wanted a leather jacket and combat boots like mine." Bri smiled and pointed at the outfit laid out on the vanity. "I think you'll look stunning in it baby."

Monica quickly changed into her new outfit, her smile never leaving her face as she checked her reflection in the mirror. "I look so good!" She turned all the way around. "I'm so pretty."

"You're gorgeous." Bri walked over and hugged the girl. "Are you ready to go? I know you'll love Jacey!"

"Can I have some lipstick?" The young girl pointed to Bri's red lips and smiled.

"Yeah." The woman nodded. "It's in my purse in the car though baby, just remind me about it when we get to Jacey's."

**SOA**

Bri carefully filled in Monica's lips with red as they sat in her car. "All done." She smiled and capped the lipstick before dropping it into her purse. "You look like a true bad ass now my love."

Monica nodded eagerly and checked her reflection in the rearview mirror. "Red is my color." She made a kissy face at herself before smiling wide, displaying her missing front tooth.

"Let's go." Bri got out of the car, pausing to help her niece. They walked hand in hand, their focus on getting to apartment 312. "You have to behave, act like you would around Aleksandr, got it?"

"Yes!" Monica rolled her green eyes and following behind her aunt. "Is Jacey nice?"

"Yes, she's sassy too." Bri chuckled. "Stand to the side, I didn't tell her you were coming. Let's surprise her." She rang the doorbell before knocking.

"Bri!" Jacey opened the door wide. "Come in."

"I have someone with me." Bri smiled at her best friend. "Jacey, I want you to meet Monica." She gestured and the six year old brunette stepped between the women.

"Holy..." Jacey looked between the two brunettes. "B, are you trying to tell me something?"

"This is my _niece._" Bri smirked. "You going to let us in?"

"She is pretty." Monica whispered to Brianna. "Hi Jacey! I'm Monica but people call me Moni!"

"Hey." The blonde smiled and let them both inside. "Hap, he's here so don't be surprised if he just pops up."

"Who's Hap?" Monica smiled up at the blonde as she looked around, her eyes landing on a man. "Is that Hap!?"

Jacey looked over at the couch and nodded. "That's him."

"Don't bug him Monica." Bri warned her niece as they sat down at the kitchen table to talk about details for their upcoming trip.

"I'm not." The brunette looked at the two women before training her green eyes back on Happy. "Can I say hello?"

"Go ahead." Jacey smirked. "He won't yell at her, she's six..."

"Oh God." Bri shook her head and watched her niece skip over to the biker. "They're going to be best friends... I just know it."

"He's going to be freaked, she looks like you with green eyes." The blonde shook her head and watched as Monica touched Happy's head and he didn't even flinch.

"I'd have no damn hands if I did that." Bri shook her head. "Let's get some of this planning done."

"Alright." Jacey nodded, smiling as she watched Happy with the young girl. "That's cute as hell."

"So your name is Happy?" Monica stood in front of the man, examining him closely. "You look mad." She giggled and touched his arm.

Happy shrugged. "What's your name?"

"Monica." She smiled at him. "Do you want to play patty cake with me?"

"No." He rasped and looked at Monica then to the two women at the kitchen table. "What's that junk on your lips? Ain't ya a little too young?"

The girl pouted. "You don't like it? I love lipstick." She smiled. "Want to color?"

"Sure." He rolled his eyes and watched the girl pull out a coloring book and a pack of markers from her backpack. "I want the black marker."

"Here." She handed it to him. "Can you draw on me?" She pointed at his arms then her own. "I want some ink like my auntie Bri."

Happy tried to think hard about if he had ever seen Bri's ink. "What's on her arm?" He looked at the young girl who had tossed her jacket on the coffee table.

"She has all sorts of stuff, a snake, a skull, roses." Monica held her arm out for him. "I want a snake!"

The biker nodded. "Alright kid." He picked her up and sat her on his lap. "A colorful one?" He picked up the markers and double checked that they were washable before starting to draw on her arm.

"Did the snake on your head hurt?" She tapped on it with her free hand and laughed when he growled at her.

"Yeah." He noddled slowly. "Don't ever do it."

"Will you be my friend?" Monica stared down at her arm as she watched him draw the snake.

Happy paused and looked around before slowly shaking his head. "Yeah. You just can't tell anyone, it doesn't leave this room. Got it kid?"

"Yeah." Monica smiled. "I got it Hap, our secret." She held out her tiny pinky and linked it with his. "Pinky promise."

"Stay still." He switched out the black marker for a green one.

"I'm still as a statue." The brunette looked around the living room, her green eyes scanning every single inch of it.

"Done." Her rasped.

"I love it." Monica examined the colors on her arm. "It's so cool! Thank you." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before hopping off his lap. "Bri!" She walked back into the kitchen, her arm in front of her. "Look, I got ink now!"

"Look at that, fifteen minutes in and he's already marked up my kid." Bri shook her head and smiled. "I love it, it's very you."

Jacey looked over at her boyfriend who was relaxing against the couch like nothing even happened. "That's cute."

"Thank you!" She ran back to the living room.

Bri laughed. "They're besties forever now J...You've lost Happy to the dark side."

The blonde shook her head and smirked. "I knew that man was good with kids..."

"It's attractive." Bri shrugged. "Let's get this done, you know I like being prepared for trips."

"Yeah, don't even remind me, I'm set on leaving your ass behind." Jacey looked at her best friend before glancing back to the living room, Monica was now sitting in Happy's lap, reading a book to him as he watched the TV.

**SOA**

"Time to go." Bri gathered up her niece's stuff from the coffee table. "Gotta leave Happy and Jacey alone, we've bugged them enough."

"But!" Monica looked at Happy then to Bri. "I'm not done watching the motorcycle show!"

Bri sighed. "Watch it when we get home Monica." She tugged the little girl to her feet and smiled. "Now say bye to Jacey and Happy."

"Bye." Monica hugged Jacey. "Thanks for letting me come over." She turned slowly to Happy who was standing up from the couch and latched on to his leg and shook her head. "I'm not leaving!"

The older brunette frowned. "Monica, I'm not playing with you right now. We have to go... No time to play these games." She reached forward to grab the girl, only to jump back as the six year old let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Happy chuckled. "I'll carry her down to the car, I'll see you again Monica." He plied her off his leg. "Remember what I told you?"

"Yeah." She wiped her tears away. "I remember."

"Then stop with the tears and I'll put you in the car." He nodded. "Then I'll see you later, right kid?"

"Right." Monica nodded and hugged him tightly. "You're my favorite biker ever Happy."

"You're my favorite Hohrykova." He smirked at the back of Bri's head as they walked to her car. "Be good kid." He sat her in the purple booster seat and nodded at her.

"Be good Hap." She waved at him as he stalked away. "He was fun!"

Bri glanced back at her. "What'd you talk about?"

"I can't tell you!" Monica crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Why not?" The brunette wanted to know everything the young girl and Happy had talked about. She had only heard and seen snippets of their interactions. She had to admit, it was all cute as hell. The big bad biker hanging out with a six year old and coloring.

"I promised him I wouldn't tell a soul!" Monica laughed. "He's so cool! He has a snake tattooed on his head and then he as so many other tattoos on his arms! It's amazing!"

"I bet it is." Bri smiled. "When we get home, you have to shower and I think that snake may wash off baby girl, do you want me to take a picture of you with it?"

"Yes!" Monica yelled. "So many pictures of it!"

"Alright." Bri smiled and looked back at her niece. "I will do it... You're going to have fun on this trip, I just know it my girl."

* * *

Kozik let himself into the Oakland house, he locked the door behind him and took the stairs in pairs. He had a rough day and wanted nothing more than to laugh and relax with a certain Russian. He pushed open the bedroom door and halted at the sight. Bri was sitting in bed, a little girl laying next to her as she read. "Sorry." He whispered.

Bri looked towards the door. "Oh man, I forgot to text you Koz... This is my niece Monica, Monica, that's my friend Kozik."

"Hi." The little girl looked at him before turning her attention back to the book.

"I can leave." The blonde gestured at the door.

"You can stay." Bri smiled. "She'll be asleep soon, you look like you could use a talk and a beer... Meet you in the kitchen?"

"Yeah." He smiled and nodded, leaving the two brunettes to finish up the bedtime story. He slowly walked down the stairs, looking at all the pictures lining the walls. He entered the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, grabbing a beer. He sat down on the bar stool and twisted the top off.

"I told you she'd fall asleep soon." Bri sat down across from him. "What's wrong though?"

"Just a hard day of club shit." He rubbed his chin and stared at her. "Could use a laugh."

"Happy played with Monica." Bri smiled at Kozik. "They bonded."

Kozik laughed. "I knew, I could count on you for a laugh."

"Always." She nodded. "All guest rooms are open, I need to get to sleep but make yourself at home... I mean you do already have the key and security code."

"You stuck the spare key under the mat, it isn't hard to let myself in." He watched her leave. "Change the damn security code too Brianna."

"Do it for me!" She called back.

Kozik sipped his beer and bounced his leg up and down. "Happy with a kid?" He laughed again. "Yeah right."

* * *

**Let me know what you thought. **


	5. Chapter 5 Interruptions & Road trips

**June 23, 2008 **

Bri padded around her room in panties and a baggy shirt, she was doing her best to pack but the music pouring through her speakers kept her singing and dancing instead. She rolled her eyes as her phone chimed. "It better not be Juice again." She picked up the phone and smiled at the screen before dropping it onto the pile of clothes on her floor.

She checked her reflection in the mirror before moving out of her room, she stuck her head into Monica's room and smiled as she saw the girl on the floor coloring away. She continued on down the stairs and quickly pulled the front door opened. "Hey."

"Hey." The man smirked at her before moving in and kicking the door closed behind him. "You know I was coming over?" He grabbed her ass and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

"Upstairs, be quiet though. My niece is here." Bri bit the blonde's bottom lip as he walked them up the stairs. "Black door..." She dipped her head and nipped his neck softly as he carried her into her room, shutting and locking the door behind them.

"Nice cave." The blonde looked around as he shrugged out if his flannel, letting it hit the floor as he moved between her long legs, his fingers dragging up and down her bare thighs. "Suits you Bri." He pushed her shirt up and rubbed his large hands over her breasts.

"Thanks." She leaned forward and pulled the man's shirt off. "Jax..." She ran her hands over his abs and smiled before moving her hands to his belt and undoing it quickly.

"J would kill us if she found out about this." Jax pushed the brunette back, trailing kisses over her neck before pausing as the doorbell sounded.

"Jesus Christ." Bri laughed and hit the intercom button. The Russian falling effortlessly from her lips before hitting the button again. "Told Ingrid to get it for me?"

"Ingrid?" The biker looked down at the beauty.

"Keeps the house in order, she's been with me since I was in the womb." Bri pushed the man's pants down and smirked. "I want you."

"Katarzyna, you have a Jacey here to see you, should I send her up?" Ingrid's thick accent came over the intercom.

"Yeah." Bri replied before hitting the button again. "Shit, um, hide in the closet." She laughed as she watched Jax trip his way into the closet as she rushed to unlock the door and make herself appear like she wasn't about to be fucked by her best friend's brother.

"B." Jacey walked into the room and looked around at the mess. "You trying to pack or are you just tossing all your shit around?"

"Packing." Bri picked up a few clothing items, camouflaging Jax's flannel in the process. "Among other things that you decided to interrupt." She rolled her eyes and smirked at the gorgeous blonde.

"I'm here to see if I can take Monica for the night. A sleepover." The blonde eyed her friend. "It'll give you time to finish yourself off you slut."

"Well not all of us have a live in boyfriend." The brunette dropped the clothes in front of the closet. "She likes your place, I still can't believe she called and asked you. You can take her, keep her, she'll ditch you for Happy if he's around though. Keep an eye out, she's a little boyfriend stealer. I can tell."

"I want to see them interact." Jacey frowned at the floor. "She's in her room? All packed?"

"She's in their coloring like a lunatic." Bri laughed. "I'll walk you in, I have to say bye to my darling anyways."

"Hey little Bri." Jacey stepped into the girly room. "This is a bright ass room."

"Jacey!" Monica jumped up and hugged the blonde. "I'm excited for the sleepover! I packed my scented markers for us to use!"

"What!?" The blonde smiled. "I got dibs on the watermelon scented one! You ready to go kid?"

"Yes!" Monica grabbed her bag from the bed before hugging Bri. "I'll see you in the morning, I love you."

"I love you too baby girl." Bri crouched down and hugged the little brunette. "You better be good for Jacey and Happy if he's there. If you're not, well he'll probably never draw another snake on you again."

"I'm going to he good, I promised him I would be good." The little girl pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her aunt quickly. "Bye Bri."

"Take care of Jacey for me Monica." Bri smiled. "Don't let her eat too much junk food! She gets grumpy when she eats too much."

"Fuck you Bri." Jacey flipped her friend off. "I'll see you in the morning, now feel free to invite Kozik over for a romp in the sheets."

Bri shook her head. "I wanna play solo tonight." She hugged Jacey and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Have fun and remember don't get jealous if Monica steals all Happy's attention, it's just what she does."

"She better share him." Jacey laughed. "Love you B.. See you in the morning, be on time!"

"Love you too J." Bri smiled. "I'm never late, always early." She followed them down and watched as the pulled out the driveway, before closing the door and booking it back to her bedroom.

"That was close." Jax walked out of the closet, a lopsided smirk on his handsome face as he grabbed the brunette by her waist. "Where were we at?" He snaked his hands under her shirt as his phone started to ring.

"Guess the world doesn't want this to happen." Bri mumbled while she listened to his side of the phone call, her mouth on his neck as he tried to focus.

Jax slipped the phone into his pocket and looked down at Bri. "I have to go, club needs me." He sighed. "I'll make this up to you."

"Don't worry about it." She grabbed his flannel from the pile by the closet. "Go handle what you need to." She dropped onto her bed and grabbed the remote. "I trust you to let yourself out." She smiled at the handsome man.

"I'm serious, I'll stop by in a few days or whatever Bri." Jax leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." She turned her attention back to the TV as she heard him descending the stairs. "I'm so bored." She buried her face into the pillows before letting out a frustrated scream.

"Are you okay?" Ingrid peered into the bedroom. "I heard you scream."

"I'm fine, just frustrated." Bri looked at the older woman. "I'll probably take a bubble bath to relax though, so go do what you were doing and relax. I'm perfectly fine."

"Okay Katarzyna." Ingrid smiled at the young woman. "Get some sleep soon, the drive to Malibu is a long one."

"I will." Bri nodded. "Goodnight."

**June 24, 2008 **

Bri dropped the last of her bags in the trunk of her car. She knew she was onlur going away for a few days but she packed for her and Monica. Thus, doubling the load. "Snacks." She looked through the pink bag to make sure she had snacks and activities to keep her, Monica, and Jacey sane for the trip.

"Here." Aleksandr handed her a stack of CDs. "You left them on the coffee table my dear."

"Thank you." Bri smiled at the man as she tucked the CDs into the snack bag. "Can't road trip without some Nsync mix tapes."

The man chuckled. "You need to behave, you have Monica with you on this trip... Nothing too reckless, you have little eyes on you all the time."

"I won't have any sex." She scoffed. "I'm not sleeping with Juan, he's the only one going besides Happy. This is Jacey's way of forcing me to face Juan and get over my commitment issues and to get to know him as Juice and forget who he was as Juan. I'm excited to be friends with Juice, I can do without those dumb ass tribal tattoos though."

Aleksandr pulled her into a hug. "Have fun, I can have someone there quick if you need to leave early for any reason or feel uncomfortable with Juice."

"I know." She hugged him back. "I will be fine, I'll be working on my tan though most of the time."

"Don't get too tan." He opened the car door for her. "Drive safe, stay safe, don't kill your niece."

"I won't, I will, I will, and I won't." Bri shut her door and rolled the window down. "Bye, don't do anything that I wouldn't do." She gave him a small smile and wave as she pulled away from the curb, heading towards her best friend's house.

**SOA**

"Bye bye,don't want to be a fool for you, just another player in your game for two, you may hate me but it ain't no lie, baby bye bye bye, bye bye, don't want to make it tough, I just want to tell you that I've had enough, it might sound crazy but it ain't no lie, baby bye bye bye!" Jacey and Bri sang at the top of their lungs as they pulled out of the parking lot behind Happy and Juice. Their trip to Malibu officially starting.

"So loud!" Monica covered her ears and shook her head, trying to drown out the singing of the two women. "Play some other songs!"

"Nope!" Jacey turned around and smiled at the young Hohrykova. "This is an Nsync road trip, isn't that right Brianna? All JT and his backup singers all the time!"

"Hell yeah." She turned up the radio as Just Got Paid started. "Just got paid..."

"Friday night, party's hoppin', place is right!" The blonde leaned over and rubbed her shoulder against the brunette's. "Sing it Bri!"

"Booties shaking, all around! Pump that jam, while I'm getting down!" Bri bopped her head as she danced in her seat, feeling overcome with joy as they were putting Oakland further behind them with each song.

"Why couldn't I ride on the bike with my Happy!?" Monica yelled over the music causing both women to glare at her.

"I told you she was going to steal him!" Bri laughed and looked at her best friend before looking back at her niece. "Because it didn't have a booster seat my love."

"Turn this music down!" She kicked at Bri's seat without luck. "Turn it down!"

"Ahhh shit! Digital Get Down!" Jacey cheered and turned the music as loud as it could go, sure that every car around them could hear it.

"This is my shit." Bri smiled, looking straightforward at the two men leading them to Malibu. The idea of a getaway was perfect, she just hoped it would be relaxing and drama free between her and Juice.

* * *

**As always let me know what you thought of the chapter. **

**Also critical question, should I continue on or abandon this story? **


	6. Chapter 6 New Friends & Enemies

**June 24, 2008 - Afternoon **

Juice sat in the sand as he watched Brianna splash around in the ocean, the wind whipping her long hair around her face as the scarf she wore around her waist danced around. He was entranced, they had been on the beach for a few hours but he had yet to even approach or speak to her. Seeing her with Jax, was an image all too present in his mind.

He slowly rose and walked down to the edge of the water, stealing side glances at his former love. Trying his hardest to break the ice.

"We just gonna ignore each other?" Bri looked over at him and smirked. "Don't think it's possible, only so much beach before we run out and have to be near each other."

He rubbed the back of his neck and just looked at the brunette. "I don't know what to say really Brianna... I want to work shit out with us but it seems like you just want to throw fucking my brothers in my face... Is that why you stay around to piss me off?"

Bri shook her head. "No, I mean, I'll admit I love giving you a taste of your own whatever but I'm single, I'm free to sleep with whomever."

"Does it have to be with my brothers? Guys I have to to all the damn time though?" Juice dropped back to the sand and she followed, sitting in front of him, so they were face to face.

"I can't help who I'm attracted to Juan." She frowned and twisted the water out of her hair. "What do you want me to do here? I have no damn clue how to handle this situation..."

He shrugged. "Just keep it out of the club... Jax's wife and his mom would kill you if they saw the antics you two were up to the other day."

"Jax is married?" Bri frowned. "I didn't know that shit... He doesn't have a ring on." She laughed. "I know how to pick some winners."

The mohawked biker chuckled. "Seems that way."

"I wonder if I'll have a relationship that actually works out." She sighed and looked further down the beach, smiling as she watched Happy and Jacey walking hand in hand. "I want that, minus their drama."

"Yeah, me too." Juice swallowed hard, he was still living with the fact he had slept with Jacey, Bri's best friend but no one wanted to tell her. "I really want to fix shit, even if it means we'll just end up being friends."

"I am willing to get to know the new you. You as Juice and not Juan Carlos." She smirked at him. "I just don't really know what to make of everything, I never got the closure I needed back then. You never would tell me why, I hated myself for so long because I thought your actions were my fault, that there was something wrong with me. I wholeheartedly believed that you cheating was my fault because I wasn't enough for you." The brunette broke the eye contact as she felt the tears start to roll down her cheeks.

Juice frowned and pulled the woman to him, settling her between his legs as he wrapped his arms around her. "It was never anything that you did. It was me being an unappreciative asshole, I got cocky after the first time you forgave me... I assumed you would always forgive me and take me back, no matter what the fuck I did. So I kept repeating that shit over and over, it wasn't until that final fucking moment that I knew, I wasn't going to be forgiven, that I had pushed my luck and lost." He rested his chin on her head. "I'm so fucking sorry Brianna, I didn't ever mean to break you like that. I never wanted you to think about ending your life..."

Bri nodded, hearing his voice starting to crack with every word he spoke. "I forgive you, I won't ever forget any of that but I forgive you." She tilted her head back and offered him a small, sad smile.

"Thank you Bri." He smiled and wiped his own tears away. "That means the damn world to me, to hear those words from you."

Bri nodded. "You want to splash around or something? All this being in my emotions, I don't feel like staying in them much longer." She stood up, grabbing his hands in hers, with one tug he was up.

"Sure." He picked her up, his hands on the back of her thighs as he walked towards the ocean until he was waist deep. "Take a swim." He tossed her into the water as she yelped.

"Asshole!" She glared at him. "What if there was a shark?"

"I'd punch it in the nose if it tried to attack you." He chuckled as she pulled him down under the waves. "Bri!" He pulled her to his body.

"What?" She wrapped her legs around his waist. "Did you see a shark!?"

"No." Juice shook his head. "I just wanted to find something out really quickly.

"What?" She dropped to her feet, feeling her feet sink into the sand underneath them.

"Those." He smirked and gestured at her chest. "You have pierced nipples?" He asked, his voice barely over a damn whisper.

"Yeah." She shrugged, covering her chest with her arms. "What's it to you Ortiz?"

"It's sexy." He laughed and shoved her back into the water.

"Oh my God!" Bri yelled when she got back to her feet, only to see the man retreating towards the beach house. "You're dead!" She took off after him, the sand slowing her down as he zigged and zagged, trying to evade her.

Juice laughed and stopped as Bri barrelled towards him. Her body knocking him down as she landed on top of him in a fit of giggles. "You play football while we were apart or what Brianna?"

"Ehh, maybe I dated a football player or something." She rolled off him, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Her lungs burned as she came down from the rush. "You should have kept running." She turned her head and faced him.

"I wanted you to win." He laughed and looked back at her, their lips just inches apart as he moved towards her.

"Bri!" They quickly moved away from each other and sat up, looking to where the the voice came from.

"Monica!" Bri stood up walking towards her sleepy looking niece. "What's wrong my love?"

"I need cuddles." The six year old whined and held her hands up in the air.

"Alright." She picked up the tiny brunette and kissed her forehead. "I'll catch you later Juice, it's nap time for me and my princess Monica."

"Later." Juice watched the two brunettes stroll back into the house. A smile never leaving his face, his talk had gone from, annoying to sad to happy. It was going well and he had high hopes that he would get a kiss from the woman before the trip was over.

**SOA**

"Why did you do that to your head?" Bri walked up behind Juice, her grey eyes trained in on the tribal tattoos. "Do you hate your mom or something?"

"No, I was drunk..." He turned around, his soulful brown eyes twinkling in the light from the setting Sun. "You know it's bad luck to speak of the dead?"

Bri nodded. "I know, I saw her a few days before she passed... She was always my favorite mother figure, always could tell when something was up with you and I... You know what she told me that day?"

He shook his head. "What?"

"Love him Bri because for some reason he doesn't seem to love himself. Keep my son from doing something too reckless." She smiled, her eyes trained on the picture window. "I told her, I would, if I ever saw you again."

"I didn't know that..." Juice frowned and looked at the brunette's arm. "All that ink and you don't have my name on you anywhere?"

"All that ink and you haven't drunkenly gotten my name tattooed on you?" She laughed and pulled open the fridge, grabbing a juice pouch.

"You have more ink than I do." He scoffed and examined his body. "I would have gotten it but who even knows how to spell Katarzyna?"

"Ha, ha." Bri rolled her eyes and poked his chest. "Funny Juan Carlos. So when's our first date?"

Juice went wide eyed. "What? You're agreeing to it? The date?"

"Yup." The woman smiled. "We had like a mini heart to heart on the beach, so it seems fitting that we have a real date. One that my niece cannot interrupt us on... Love her to death but she has horrible timing but thank God, she's off bugging Happy and Jacey."

"I feel stupid because I didn't even know you had siblings Bri." Juice frowned and looked at the woman standing in front of him sipping a Capri Sun like a five year old. "I feel like you're an entirely new person that I really want to get to know."

"Same, I never would have pegged you to end up in a motorcycle club... I mean I knew you loved Harleys, leather jackets and riding boots but I didn't think you'd become an outlaw... Look at you Juan Carlos, doing outlaw shit with your friends. Your ma is probably wagging her finger at you right now." She laughed and tossed away the drained juice pouch.

"I didn't have a family, the Sons became my family. Charming is my home." He smiled.

"Lies, my family was your family. Aleksandr may have wanted to kill you but he would have helped you out because of how much you mean to me Juice." Bri fluffed her hair out. "We protect our own."

He nodded and watched her waltz out of the kitchen, her hips swaying sensually, causing all types of thoughts to cross his mind.

**June 25, 2008 **

Juice stared at Happy, had been doing so for the last five minutes. Trying to work up the courage to speak to him, to ask him for advice about how to wow Bri. He knew Bri would be the last person Happy wanted to talk to but he couldn't ask Jacey about it. "Happy."

"What?" Happy grumbled as he set his beer down on the table.

"I need to ask for some advice..." Juice sat down in the chair across from him. "I know you don't like me or whatever but you're the only one I have to ask."

"What is it?" Happy sat back and looked at him.

"Bri said yes to going on a date with me... I need advice on where to take her for the date." Juice flashed a goofy smile.

Happy rolled his eyes. "How the fuck am I supposed to know where to take a whore for a date?"

Juice sat up straighter, his smile falling from his face. "Don't call her that."

"I call it like I see it." He rasped out.

Juice shook his head. "Alright, forget I even asked." He stood up and walked away, not trusting himself to be around Happy and listen to him bash Bri.

"What's a whore?" Monica popped up behind Happy, her tiny fingers tapping on his cheeks.

Happy tensed and turned around, his dark eyes, meeting her bright emerald ones. "Where'd you hear that?"

"From you silly!" Monica giggled. "You called Bri a whore! What does it mean?"

"It's a girl who kisses more boys than she should kiss." He pulled the girl into his lap and smiled at her.

"What's wrong with that!? She can kiss boys she thinks are cute." Monica crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the man.

He shrugged. "It's bad..." He tried his hardest to explain it to her without telling her anything that he shouldn't yell her.

"Oh." Monica moved off his lap. "So you're being mean to my auntie Bri? I don't like that, I can't be your best friend anymore." The brunette flipped her hair over her shoulder, a move she had watched her aunt do plenty of times before. "Bye." She flashed him an ice cold stare before leaving him sitting there all alone.


	7. Chapter 7 Whore

**June 27, 2008**

Ten years, ten long years and Brianna Hohrykova was still giddy as a schoolgirl when she laid eyes on Juice. He was familiar yet different, still a nerd but had the potential to be dangerous, which was a trait that turned her on beyond belief. "Juice."

"Yeah?" He looked up.

"What're you doing? Don't tell me you brought your work with you!" She pushed his laptop shut. "You're supposed to be having fun, enjoying the beach."

"I'm enjoying the sights." He poked her flat stomach before rubbing her hips. "I don't remember you having hips when we were younger..."

She shrugged. "I hit puberty after we broke up... It's done wonders for me." She did a twirl.

"I can see that." He chuckled. "I'm not doing work though, I'm doing research on something important." He tried opening his laptop back up.

"Like?" She sat down next to him and opened up the laptop. "Porn isn't going to pop up right?"

"No." He blushed. "I've been meaning to ask you, what's the story behind your back tattoo?"

Bri's face gave way to annoyance. "It's a mistake, a regret, something I wish I can get rid of. If we ever get serious, I'll tell you the full story, it's a long one, with lots of pain and suffering."

"Oh." Juice nodded. "Alright."

"You pick our first date yet?" She rested her legs across his lap as she looked at her phone. "I have to know when it is so I can clear my schedule, I'm a busy doctor."

"I will let you know." He looked at her. "You break your nose?" He reached out and touched the slight imperfection on her nose.

"Jacey broke it, it's how we first met." Bri laughed. "Long story, ask her about it one day. She tells it better than I ever can."

The man laughed. "I will... So, is the shit with you and Kozik serious?"

"Just sex... Why?" She tilted her head the side, sending her hair over her face.

"If we start dating, would you stop seeing him?" He grabbed her legs and pulled her more onto his lap.

"Yes, I would stop." She smiled and sighed as she saw a flurry if brown hair running towards them.

"What's a whore?" Monica looked at the pair.

"Where'd you hear that Monica?" Bri sat forward, looking at her niece. "Tell me right now."

"Happy called you a whore yesterday when he was talking to Juice!" Monica crossed her arms.

Bri stood up, Russian spilling from her lips as she stomped towards Jacey and Happy's room. She exhaled as she opened the door.

"Damn, B can't you knock?" Jacey covered herself with her sheet and looked at her friend.

"You called me a whore in front of Monica, Happy!?" The brunette crossed her arms and glared at the man who was tugging his jeans back on.

"What?" Jacey cast a sideways glance at her boyfriend before looking back at the two brunettes in the doorway.

"The kid was eavesdropping." Happy shrugged as he pulled his shirt on, anger from being interrupted apparent on his face.

"He's such a meanie!" Monica shook her head before sticking her tongue out at Happy.

Bri sighed. "I get that you have a problem with me but take it up with me... If you want to call me names say that shit to my face, not where my niece can hear them."

"She should learn manners and not listen in on other people's conversations." The biker growled at the brunette.

"I don't care... Keep your names to yourself Lowman." Bri crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm serious right now."

"Yeah Lowman!" The tiny brunette kicked the biker in his shins and hid behind Bri.

"If you weren't a whore, then I wouldn't be calling your ass one Bri." Happy rubbed his shins and narrowed his eyes at the brunette.

Jacey sighed. "You're not helping yourself right now babe... Apologize."

"The fuck? I'm not apologizing, I didn't do shit. She came in here with that prissy attitude." He waved the women off.

"Kick him again..." The blonde smirked at Monica who eagerly obliged the request. "Apologize to her!"

"Bri, I'm sorry... That you're such a damn whore." Happy crossed his arms and stared at the woman.

"Whatever." Bri grabbed Monica. "I'm out of here... Jacey you can head back alone. I'm calling Aleksandr."

"Bri..." The blonde watched the brunette stalk out of the room. "Very nice Happy, you made her get Aleksandr involved."

Happy shrugged. "She started it." He looked at the blonde who was getting dressed frantically. "Relax, she ain't leaving."

"You better hope not." Jacey narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend.

**June 27, 2008 - Late night**

Brianna sat on her living room floor, her dog prancing around her, the puppy's tail wagging furiously. "I missed you too puppy." She rubbed the dogs ears as the doorbell rang. "Who the fuck is that?" She sprang up from the floor as the dog started barking.

The brunette smiled as she looked out the peephole, unlocking the door and pulling it open quickly. She smiled at the man in front of her.

"Hey Banana." The blonde pulled her into a hug and lifted her off the ground. "How was the trip?"

"Fun until the ending." She wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her forehead against his. "You do anything fun?"

Kozik shrugged and looked at the gorgeous woman. "Not really, you get lucky?"

"Yeah, with my fingers." She laughed and yanked on the front of his cut. "You?"

"Maybe." He shrugged out of his cut and sweatshirt. "Why didn't you?"

"Because my fuckbuddy wasn't around Kozik." Bri fisted the front of the man's shirt, her lips pressing light kisses to the side of his neck as they moved to the sofa. "What are these?"

Kozik moved away from her. "Nothing."

"Seriously? You let some slut mark you up like that?" She shook her hair out and growled at the man. "Then you come here and want to sleep with me? Unbelievable!"

"You act like you aren't sleeping with someone else." He stood up from the sofa and backed away from the upset brunette.

"I don't sleep with someone, let them mark me up and expect another person to sleep with me right after... I've never done back to back hook ups and I would never let anybody I'm fucking mark me up!" She crossed her arms and rested her head on the sofa. "I'm not some croweater..."

Kozik balled his fists. "You act like one though." He clamped his mouth closed, regretting his words as soon as they came out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it Brianna."

"You know where the door is, I suggest you leave before I have Igor or Elijah toss your ass out." She looked towards the door. "Just leave, I don't have any more patience to deal with you high and mighty Sons today."

"I didn't mean it Bri." He tries again as he watched her move from the sofa and start towards the stairs. "I'm sorry Brianna, come on, forgive me."

"LEAVE! NOW!" Bri gave him one more look, her grey eyes almost black with anger. "They will get you if you're not gone... I'm done with you Kozik... If you see me as a croweater, I don't want to be friends with benefits any longer." She started up the stairs. "Bye Herman."

**June 29, 2008 **

The brunette looked at her phone as it chimed again and rolled her eyes seeing her best friend's newest text message. It wasn't Jacey's fault but she just didn't want to talk to the blonde. Especially considering the circumstances.

She hadn't spoken to her in two days and she was working on three days now. Her phone chimed again and she looked at the messages. The newest one was Jacey telling to pull her head out of her ass and call her back. "Yeah, pull your boyfriend's head out of yours then."

"Who are you talking to, gorgeous?" The deep voice scared the hell out of the brunette who had a 9mm instantly trained on him as soon as she rolled over on her bed. "Shit, put that down! The maid let me in!"

Bri rolled her eyes. "She could've asked if I wanted company before hand." She put the gun under her pillow and sat up. "Come to get off?"

The blonde shook his head. "I actually came to check on since you're not returning my calls or texts. Everything ok? You seem on edge..."

"I'm fine, Jax, just fine... Surprised Jacey hasn't shown up yet." The brunette shrugged her shoulders, her gray eyes never leaving the handsome man in front of her. "Happy called me a whore and Kozik said I'm just a like a croweater so if that's what you're here for then I'll have to reject the idea."

Jax shook his head again, hating the sad look on Bri's face. "I honestly came to check on you, darlin'. Jacey did mention that you were ignoring her when I asked her what was up, but she didn't say anything more about it." He moved closer to the brunette, sitting down on the bed when he looked at her again to see tears rolling down her cheeks. "You're not a whore and you're damn sure not a croweater. You're having some fun. Just like we all do. Before Hap got with Jacey, he was with different every night. Koz is still like that... And me? Well I've only been in two serious relationships in my life. The first one ended in shit and I'm technically still in the second one. I don't want to be anymore but I still sleep in the same bed as her. You're not a whore, you're just a gorgeous, sexy, irresistible woman who is keeping her options open..."

"Maybe they're right... It was really me just getting back at Juan Carlos for all the shit he put me through when we were kids. I bet J hates me for ignoring her... Bet she thinks the same thing Happy does."

Jax laughed, shaking his head. "What does it matter what people think? Fuck anyone who doesn't think you're great. I know for a fact she doesn't think you're a whore... You know she'd tell you if she did."

"She knows we slept together... I accidentally told her or well, she tricked it out of me. Sorry." Bri looked into a pair of icy blue eyes that just made her wanna cry even more. "She probably hates me for that shit... If she meets my brother, she'll probably return the favor out of spite."

The blonde laughed again, wrapped his arms around the brunette. "Would you stop your crying? Jacey loves you with all her heart and she wouldn't do that... If she truly cared that we slept together, she'd call my wife and my wife would tell my mom and my mom would try to come kill you. But she doesn't care... She just doesn't want me to have any fun."

"I wanna go see her but Happy's probably there and I don't wanna see him..." Bri shook her head, trying to stop her tears. "He'd probably have more shit to say about me... Even Monica heard him call me a whore. What if my baby starts believing I'm a whore? I can't have her thinking that!"

Jax pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Would you stop? You're not a whore, Bri.. Just knock that shit off. Come on, put some shoes on and let's go see my sister. She's practically dying to see you, she told me if I get in touch with you to tie you to my bike and bring you to her. Close enough, huh?" He flashed his lopsided smirk at her as he watched her slip on her Nike slides. "I'll follow you there, babe." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her out the door and down the stairs to the front door.

* * *

**thanks to my darling Bray (outlawqueeenn) for helping with this chapter. (: **


	8. Chapter 8 Issues

**June 29, 2008 **

Bri slowly followed behind Jax, her feet dragging as they made their way to apartment 312. "Yeah, I don't think I can do this anymore Jax." The brunette turned to walk back to her car, only to be stopped by a hand on her hip.

"She wants to see you Bri, just relax." Jax smirked and moved the woman to his front. "Go."

"Fine." She gritted out as she slowly started up the cement stairs. "I'm nervous Jax... I really don't want to see Happy."

"Good thing you're here to talk to Jacey then." He lifted the brunette and rushed the rest of the way up the stairs. "She won't hit you..." He banged on the door before hitting the doorbell.

"What the hell do you- ." The blonde stopped mid sentence. "What's wrong? Is everything ok, Jax?" Jacey stood in front of the man, her glare turning into a frown.

Jax smirked, shaking his head before he pulled Bri into his side. "Found this trying to dig her own shallow grave. You want her?"

"Hi J." Bri smiled at her best friend.

Jacey cocked an eyebrow at the brunette. "You've been ignoring my calls and texts for two damn days... Where the fuck have you been?"

"Home, wallowing." Bri shrugged. "I didn't want to talk to you, given how things ended on the trip."

The blonde scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I didn't call you a whore and I damn sure wasn't on Hap's side about it! So you being mad at me is so pointless but whatever floats your boat, Brianna."

"It just sucks that he thinks of me as a whore! Then to top it off, I thought you might start thinking I was one too. So, I just ignored you. I wasn't mad at you at all Jacey, just scared." The brunette sighed.

Jacey just shook her head. "Well why are you here now? And with him of all damn people?"

"He showed up at my place, I pointed a gun at him, then subsequently broke down about everyone thinking I'm a whore... I came here to apologize for ignoring you, I shouldn't have done that. My problem is with Happy and Kozik, not you blondie. Forgive me, please?" Bri smiled.

The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "What happened with Koz?"

"We had an argument and he basically sees me as a croweater." The brunette rolled her eyes. "I don't wanna be a whore or an eater, I just wanna be able to have sex."

Jacey groaned. "Fuck him. He's just mad because you weren't gonna sleep with just him. Just stick to your original plans with Juice." The blonde flipped her brother off. "Go home to your wife, dipshit." She grabbed Bri's hand and pulled her into the apartment, groaning when her brother followed them inside.

"Juan Carlos." Bri smirked. "He still hasn't told me when the date is, I'm losing hope with that too... I'm a week away from just submerging myself in boob jobs and tummy tucks."

Jacey laughed, sinking into the couch. "The fool is probably planning something big. Give him time..."

"Do you think I could pull off being a blonde?" Bri grabbed Jacey's hair and put it up to her face. "He better hurry though, I have to start shadowing my mentor, Joseph. Best surgeon in the Bay."

Jacey shook her head. "No... You're perfect the way you are, shut up." She laughed but immediately stopped when she heard her boyfriend start calling her name. "Shit, hang on." She stood up and walked down the hallway that led to the rooms.

Bri rested her head against the sofa, her eyes focused on Jax who was staring at his phone. "Why don't you go home to your wife? The marriage can't be that terrible..."

"It's not, she's a great person and all but I'm just not ready for all that." Jax shook his head.

"Ah, then why'd you get married?" She crossed her legs and moved her feet until her slides fell off. "You don't have to answer if you don't wanna. I'm just curious."

Jax shrugged, laughing. "Love her, loved her then and still do now but I didn't realize how unprepared I was or well, I am."

"At least you married her for love, not a lot of people have that." The brunette tilted her head. "I hope I never cross paths with her though, I'd feel awfully bad."

He laughed, nodding his head. "Then don't cross paths with her... Or better yet, don't ever bring it up if you see her."

"I would never, I didn't even know you were married until a few days ago." Bri sagged into the sofa. "I'm beginning to think Aleksandr was right when he told me to stay away from the Sons.

"You should've listened." Happy mumbled as he walked into the room, earning a slap to the back of his head by Jacey. "Ow, woman!"

Jacey pushed him into the kitchen and slapped his back again. "Ignore him, B, he's just an irritable ass."

Bri nodded, jangling her keys I'm her cupped hands. "Maybe I should just go, don't want to irritate him any more than he is already."

"No I want you here... He can get over himself. Plus he's just getting a beer then going back to my laptop to dog hunt."

"Alright." Bri smiled and nodded her head slowly, her eyes trained on the Audi emblem on her keyring. "But that reminds me, I need to text Eric and have him let my puppy out."

"Don't call my Monica a puppy!" Jacey threw Bri a glare.

"No, I have an actual puppy. His name is Monster, he's a mastiff." The brunette laughed. "Monica, she's been attached to Aleksandr at the leg since losing her boyfriend."

"Anyone ever tell you that she looked like you, just shrunken down?" Jax raised a brow at the woman across from him. "Why did she even have a boyfriend though?"

"I get that a lot but I don't see it. She has green eyes, mine are obviously grey... You didn't know? Monica and Happy were a thing for like a quick minute." Bri laughed as her thumbs flew over her phone. "It was a real whirlwind romance."

"I won out though." Jacey dropped to the sofa, draping her long legs over Bri's lap. "I got the man."

"She's really torn up about losing her best friend." Bri sighed. "They were secret BFFs."

"That's precious." Jacey laughed. "I'm giving that man hell for that."

"I am not supposed to know, Aleksandr told me, Moni told him." The brunette played with her hair. "She'll find someone better, maybe closer to her age."

Happy walked back into the living room, rolling his eyes before nodding his head at Jax and dropping a kiss to his girlfriend's head. "You need a kiss too or you gonna stop being a whiney little bitch over the truth?"

"Happy! My god, would you stop being such an ass?" Jacey moved away from her boyfriend. "If you gonna call her a whore for sleeping with different guys then you have to call me one too..."

"I'm not being whiney at all." Bri moved off the sofa. "I should really go now, before I say some shit that I really shouldn't..."

He smirked, handing his beer off to Jacey as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Go ahead, say something."

The brunette rubbed the bridge of her nose, sizing up the man in front of her as her brain channeled through the best insult to toss out. She crossed her arms, her eyes grew dark. "I honestly thought you'd be a better guy for her than Esai but I was wrong, I think she'd be better off if she was still with him."

"What the fuck do you even know about me, bitch?" He growled as he stepped closer to the brunette.

Bri stepped forward. "Let's see, you're an asshole for one, you don't respect women, you're judgmental... Should I keep going Mr. Lowman?"

"Definitely. Let me hear more of what you seem to know about me." He growled, shrugging Jacey's hands off of his arms.

"Seem?" Bri chuckled. "I know a whole lot more than I actually should. But since we're here to bash each other's characters, you're sort of a pussy to be some big bad ass assassin... I mean, I don't know what the job requirements are exactly but I doubt they include befriending six year olds."

"Bri..." Jax started to stop her but she put her hand up stopping him.

"He can handle it Jax... Otherwise he wouldn't dish shit out." She dropped her arms to her sides, waiting for the biker to lash out.

Happy chuckled, nodding his head. "You're right, bitch, I can handle your sad excuses for insults against me. You're nothing but a bitter excuse for a croweater. You're mad because your pussy wasn't good enough for Juice when you were together years ago, you're mad because not even a woman wanted you or your pussy so now you're fucking anything that's dumb enough to go near your rancid ass pussy. You're really just a waste. You could actually be fucking relevant and wanted, but you choose to fucking give it all up for some sad ass excuse for revenge on Juice."

Bri rolled her eyes. "Is that all you have for me? A bunch of bullshit low blows about my past? I don't even know why you even care about who I sleep with. As for being relevant, I like to think I'm pretty relevant and wanted..." She shrugged and looked at Jacey. "You're right, he's a real keeper J."

"You both need to stop! This is just a bunch of bullshit... You both have no real reasons to even dislike each other so stop..." Jacey came to stand in between the feuding pair. "You're an asshole and she's a bitch. No fucking big deal. I don't even know why that has anything to do with either of you. Nor does each of your lists of your fuck buddies... So get a fucking grip."

Bri sighed as she slipped her phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen. "I didn't even start any of this shit, I shouldn't have stayed. It was a bad judgment call on my part."

"Yeah you did. You started this when you thought you had shit to talk but clearly you don't so now you're trying to retreat and shit. Weak, you're fucking weak!" Happy rolled his eyes, snatching his beer from the blonde behind him as he pulled her closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm weak." The brunette scoffed. "I wasn't even talking about right now, I actually never even had a problem with you Happy but now, now I do, I consider us to be..." She let the rest of the sentence drop as the sound of the doorbell interrupted her.

Jacey cocked an eyebrow at the brunette who was trying hard to avoid her piercing blue eyes. "Tell me you didn't..." Bri shook her head making Jacey scoff. "Goddamn it, Bri! He's not involved in this shit. All he's gonna do is threaten Hap and his life then try to get us to all talk this shit out. But me and Jax have no fucking part in this shit- you and Hap are the one with issues."

"So, Aleksandr can play therapist!" Bri shrugged. "I have an issue with Happy and whoever told him about Dani... I'll own up to spilling the beans about Juice being a cheater..."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Juice told him about Dani... The guys wanted everything they had on you so they had Juice run it. Came up with everything, except Nik and them... The whole family is out of the question. But they've got everything else. Including our friendship through the years, our records, your relationship with D spilled out. Aleksandr doesn't need to-." The doorbell chimed again. "Jax just get the door."

"Juice..." Bri mumbled. "I will kill that kid, with a Capri Sun... The guys had no actual right to go digging into my past, if they wanted to know me, they should have fucking asked."

Jax slowly opened the door, his jaw going slack as he took in the sight before him. "Who's this chunk of meat?"

"Move out of his way, Jax... Please come in Aleksandr." Jacey spoke softly, watching Jax do as he was told all while she was pulled into Happy's side.

Aleksandr looked around the room before his eyes settled on Bri. "What seems to be the problem here Katarzyna?"

"Happy and I can't seem to play nice with each other." The brunette looked at the man before focusing her eyes on her feet.

The Russian rolled his eyes. "My girl, I am sure I raised you better than this, did I not?" He pulled her to him as he began whispering in Russian to her. "So, who started this bullshit? Make it a quick answer, I don't have all the time in the world."

"Happy did, technically... But she didn't ignore him like I told you too... She egged him on." Jacey shrugged her shoulders, earning her a slap in her ass from her boyfriend. "What? I'm not letting both you idiots get away with this shit... Own up and deal with your issues."

Jax rolled his eyes. "I'm going home... Let me know how everything goes, Jacey-J... I'll see ya tomorrow." He kissed her head before moving to Bri and repeating the action. "See ya Killa..."

Bri sighed. "All I want is for Happy to like me... Is that too much to ask for?"

Aleksandr nodded. "Yes, not everyone is going to like you... Deal with it."

"Oh my fucking God." The brunette rubbed her face and shook her head. "He has no valid reason to dislike me, at all."

"This is the solution Katarzyna, I'm sure Jacey will agree. If he doesn't like you, don't talk to him, don't go near him, don't even think of him." The giant man smirked. "As far as the both of you are concerned, the other doesn't exist."

Jacey nodded her head. "That could work for me... Just forget you ever met each other. Just because we are dating doesn't mean he has to be friends with her and she doesn't have to be friends with him. I like the idea."

"Fine, whatever." Bri crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back to the trio. "I have to go, I'm pretty sure I'm needed in Russia, or at least Serbia or the Seychelles..."

"There it is, that lovely default setting." Aleksandr tilted her head back to see her eyes. "Always trying to flee the country... Hold fast my dear."

"I'm gone." Bri pulled open the door. "Bye Jacey."

Jacey pulled away from the heavily tattooed biker and moved to door, slamming it shut before Bri could get out of it. "You walk out that fucking door and leave this fucking state, let alone country, I am through with you. Our friendship will be over and you'd better start thinking of me as non-existent. You fuckin ran on me before and I was a damn wreck without you for the longest time... Choose your decision wisely."

Bri blinked at the woman, trying her hardest not to break. "I'm going home, Jacey... I'm not leaving the country just yet. I was just as much of a wreck as you were, I can't go through that again, if you need me, I'll be in my fortress of solitude."

"No, I can't trust that right now... You're stuck here with me. I'm more than positive that Aleksandr wouldn't mind getting some things from your house for you." She turned around to smile at the burly Russian before her eyes landed in her boyfriend. "You don't get an opinion so shut it the hell down now."

"I cannot stay here, I have to take care of Monica..." Bri sighed, looking at the door. "You don't care do you? I'll just sit down now."

Jacey laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Does my little princess have a problem with me or Hap now? Last time I checked, she still loves me... As for my lovely other half, who the hell knows how she feels toward him. She can come too. I do have another guest room. That locked room beside yours."

"I want her to stay with Ingrid." Bri dropped to the sofa. "I just need my doctor's clothes and the bottle of vodka I keep hidden in the freezer behind the pizza rolls."

Jacey shook her head. "Go Bri... Run off to whatever and wherever. I can't keep you here like a prisoner."

"I'm tired of running, I don't even think my passport can hold another stamp on it." The brunette moved from the sofa. "I'm back in California because you needed me Jacey, I didn't come back for anything else but you... If you don't need me here anymore, then I'll go back to Russia and play princess."

Jacey shook her head. "I always need you, you're my sister! The mystery flavored cupcake needs you... What makes you think otherwise?"

"The mystery flavored cupcake? What the fuck is that, J?" Happy pulled his girlfriend back to him, his hand instinctively going to her stomach.

"It's a strawberry flavored cupcake." Bri smirked. "I don't know, honestly it just feels like you don't need me around at all."

Jacey shrugged out of Hap's arms and moved to Bri. "I don't know why you could ever feel like that... But I need you so much, especially right now."

"I just feel like a damn burden, like I always have shit going on... So, I distance myself from everyone." Bri frowned. "I'm here for you though Jacey, always." She pulled the blonde into a tight embrace.

**June 30, 2008 **

Bri wiped her eyes as she looked at her back in the mirror, perched in the corner of Jacey's guestroom. After a hard day and even harder night, the brunette had spent most of the early hours, tossing and turning. The past haunting both her sleeping and waking hours. "Christ."

She quickly changed out of her pajamas and into her favorite Nike workout outfit and sneakers, set on running and getting her mind off the past and all the Happy bullshit. She tied her hair back, slipping her phone in it's arm band as she walked out of the room and into the kitchen. "I'm going for a run."

"Alright." Jacey looked at the brunette. "Wearing that?"

"It's workout gear." Bri shrugged as she started to stretch. "My ass is covered Jacey." She smiled as she backpedaled out of the kitchen. "I'll be back soon!"

Bri jogged down the stairs, through the parking lot. Her feet carrying her further and further away from the apartment complex. "Tattoos." She paused in front of the shop before heading inside. Her grey eyes scanning the pristine place.

"Hey, you have an appointment?" The bleached blonde man behind the counter asked.

"No, I would like to make one if you don't take walk ins." She tapped on the counter.

"It depends, what do you have in mind to get?" He looked at her left arm and smiled. "I'm Bryce."

"Brianna. I want to get something small, right here." Brianna pointed to her side. "Skull and dagger." She smiled.

"Small?" He chuckled. "Alright, let's get you set up, I got a few hours free to knock it out."

"Medium sized, take up the whole side, I just want and need it now." She smiled at Bryce.

**SOA**

Bri walked into the apartment, silently groaning as she spotted Happy on the sofa. She walked past him, ignoring his presence like she was instructed to. "Jacey."

"Jesus, what happened to your side!?" Jacey moved towards her best friend, concern in her eyes. "You were gone for hours B!"

"I got a tattoo." The brunette pulled down the bandaging. "Killer, yeah?"

"Holy shit." The blonde covered her mouth as she admired the giant tattoo on her friend. "That's sick but Hap could have done it for you..."

Bri rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah alright." She set the bandage and plastic wrap on the counter. "I wouldn't ask him for anything, he's nonexistent to me."

"It looks good though." Jacey smiled. "Suits you."

"Thanks." Bri reapplied the covering. "Gives me a reason to wear crop tops and bandeaus forever." She washed her hands before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "I am going to shower then probably head out, see about a new passport."

"For what!?" Jacey shrieked. "You promised you wouldn't leave me Brianna!"

"I'm not, have you forgotten I'm here on a student visa, I need to have proper identification at all times." The brunette let her hair loose. "I'm not leaving you and the cupcake J. I'm here for you." She left the kitchen, humming as she made her way to the bathroom. Her mind clear and free of all previous negative thoughts.

* * *

**much nneeded chapter, kind of comes to a temporary solution between Happy &amp; Brianna... Next chapter will have all the fun that is Bri and Juice on a date. So let me know what you thought about this chapter and many thanks to Bray for helping me with this chapter. (: **


	9. Chapter 9 Rinks and Drinks

**July 1, 2008 **

Juice paced the living room of his home, he had texted and invited Bri over but had never received a response back. He wanted more one on one time before he sprung the big date idea he had for them, he just hoped she would turn up at his place. He stopped his pacing as the doorbell rang, his heart jumped into his throat as his hands grew clammy. He opened the door, smiling. "Hey."

"Hello." Bri smiled back. "I would have called, my phone died when I was replying to you, sorry 'bout it."

"It's okay." He slid to the side and let the brunette walk in. His eyes taking in the way her skirt hugged all her curves. "I wanted to talk, hang out, maybe talk about the date."

"Cool." She sat on the black leather sofa. "Excuse me if I smell funny, I had a rough day at work, this woman popped an implant on me."

"Her actual implant?" Juice sat down next to her, pulling her legs onto his lap.

"No, one of the sample ones that sit on my desk, stabbed it with a pocket knife." Bri laughed. "It's just been a terrible ass past week for me."

"Tell me about it, it's time for a recap." He smiled as she did. "Like old times."

"Let's see, besides the bullshit in Malibu, there was bullshit again at Jacey's... Then, there's family issues, that I don't even want to get into right now because it'll piss me off, at work, I'm being treated like a secretary, the only time I get called on to do something important is when Dr Banks asks for me." She shook her head. "I just want good shit to start happening so I have a reason other than Jacey to stay here."

"You and Happy will patch shit up eventually." Juice rubbed her legs aimlessly. "What happened to optimistic Brianna? You never used to be doom and gloom before..."

"I have no soul." She frowned. "I don't know about that, I just wanted to be friends with him because he's basically Jacey's world. Like, I just wanted to have a friendship with him like I had with Esai but it's not going to be like that ever... Like what would him and I even bond over at this point?"

"You have a soul, you're dramatic as hell." He scoffed. "Bond over your love for Jacey or some shit."

"I don't even want to be his friend at all anymore... He believes me to be a waste of space, he thinks I have a rancid pussy and it wasn't good enough for you or Daniela." She shrugged and combed her fingers through her hair. "I just honestly hate that he knows so much about me... It's like a terrible ass feeling to have him throw my past at me like that..."

"Damn, I'm sorry." He wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You didn't cry in front of him right?"

"Nope." She laughed and shook her head. "The love of my best friend's life hates me... What is life right now? I sometimes wish I wouldn't have even dropped everything to come back here."

"It'll improve Brianna, relax." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Why do you wish that though?"

"Because, it's painful... You ever have your heart ripped out? It fucking sucks so bad, especially to have it happen twice... No one was really there for me either time... Not even Jacey, yet the moment she left that upset voicemail, I dropped everything to be here with her,she needed me, so I came." Bri sighed. "I just wish I could run from all the bad shit forever."

"Gotta face it head on sometimes to get that closer. You can only run so much before you get tired and want a stable home and family, believe me when I say that." Juice hugged the brunette tightly. "It'll all pass, I promise you that."

She nodded. "Do you have a shirt I can wear? I just got new ink and my clothes are bugging it."

"Sure." He slid from the sofa and walked back into his room, grabbing the first clean shirt he saw from the closet. "Here." He handed it to her, watching as she disrobed and slipped his shirt on.

"It barely fits." She shook her head and sat back on the sofa. "You're gonna have to upgrade from a small-medium to a damn large at least."

"Do you get ink every time you go through some shit?" He looked at her arms trying to figure out where the new piece was.

"Yeah." She nodded and lifted the shirt for him to see. "You ready for the meaning behind the skull and snake on my back?"

"Yeah but first what's with them on your side with that sick ass dagger?" He smiled and sat down next to her, her legs once again on his lap.

"I have to tell you about my back, then it'll all end with the piece on my side." She nodded. "You ready for it?"

Juice nodded slowly. "Yes, but why are you telling me now?"

"Because I want everything to be out in the open." She smiled small. "So, you know everything beforehand. You can make a decision on it."

"Alright, you're making me nervous now Bri." He rubbed his head. "Lay it all on me."

"My dad forced me to marry a man almost three times my age when I was nineteen. The marriage was abusive, only ended because he died. So technically I'm a widow, in the process of him dying, I inherited his branch of the Bratva." She rolled her eyes. "The tattoo on my back, it marked me as belonging to him... That is something I cry thinking about."

"Wow." Juice stared at her, not entirely knowing what to say to her at all. "That, that sucks."

"It does." She shrugged. "I guess, it kind of made me stronger. The tattoo on my side, it signals the end of his era, which is the snake, it is the birth of my era, the skull."

"I don't feel any different towards you, I still want to take you out." He kissed her lips gently. "Still perfect as ever Brianna..." He hugged the brunette tightly and smiled before telling her about their date.

**July 2, 2008 **

Bri shook her head as Juice opened her door for her. Her grey eyes scanning the neon lights of the building as she praised herself for wearing a comfortable pair of jeans. "I can't believe roller skating is our first date."

"It's fun." Juice smirked as he eagerly led her into the building. "It'll be fun, plus I remember watching you ice skate for hours in the tenth grade."

"That was fun, I got to wear my favorite fur shrug." She looked at all the people inside the rink. "So many people, so many chances to make a damn fool of myself."

"I'll be right at your side." He pulled her to the counter. "Size 11 and size 7." He smiled and handed the young woman behind the counter the cash. "We'll get a locker, put your stuff in it."

"I left everything in the car except my phone and some cash." The brunette sat on the bench and quickly removed her sneakers before pulling on the roller skates. "I hope this is like riding a bike." She tightened the laces of the skates and watched the man next to her do the same.

Juice stood up and held out his hands for his date. "Let's find out." He moved carefully towards the opening of the rink and paused. "You think the little girls in the tutus will help us out if we fail at this?"

"Nope! Those are the mean girls." Bri laughed as she rolled onto the shiny surface. "I am going to skate laps around them." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her, biting back laughter as he put his arms to the side to steady himself.

"I'm good at this." He said as he fell backwards, earning laughter from passing skaters. "So judgmental."

"I told you, those are mean girls." The brunette pulled the man back to a standing position. "Keep ahold of my hand and you'll be good, I'll make you look good babe."

"I trust you." Juice gripped her hand and let her pull him slowly. "I'll just mimic you." He smirked and started to slowly move his legs.

"This is fun." Bri turned backwards and looked at him. "It's exactly like riding a bike!"

"You look good." Juice reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her towards him. "When do they do the slow skates?"

The beauty shrugged. "I don't know, I've never been to this place before... We're going to have to bring Monica here one time."

"Yeah." He smiled and pushed her away from him, sending her into the group of tutu sporting little girls. "They're your family now!"

Bri stuck her tongue out at him. "I don't wanna wear a tutu!" She laughed and skated a circle with the little girls, linking her arm through Juice's when she reached him. "Ahh, snap! Slow skate Juan." She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I haven't heard this song since, ninth grade." Juice kissed her forehead as they slowly rounded the rink, taking in the other couples doing the same exact thing. "You still love nachos and root beer?"

"I've become more sophisticated, I love nachos and real beer now." The young woman smiled as she skated them into the center of the rink. "Stay still, I'm going to make you look so good."

He laughed and watched as she started skate around him, the years of ice skating showing through as she spun effortlessly around him. "People are staring." He felt himself blush as she finished her routine with a leap and a flourish.

"Yeah! Perfect score for Hohrykova!" Bri lifted her arms in the air and clapped loudly. "I would like to thank Aleksandr for pushing me to be the best figure skater I could be at six."

Juice grabbed the woman as every continued to stare. "This, this is not how I saw this date going... It's so much better, I forgot how goofy you could be Bri." He directed them back to their bench in the corner, sitting down before pulling her on his lap. "I forgot how much fun you were."

"I needed this so badly, being a doctor was no joke at all." She shrugged. "So, you gonna get me those nachos and a drink Ortiz? Or do I need to skate an encore?"

He slid her off his lap. "I'm going, you want sour cream on them?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "And extra jalapeños please and thank you."

Juice smiled as he waited for his order to be ready. Waving to Bri as she talked on the phone, no doubt checking in on Monica for the second time since he picked her up from work.

"Your girlfriend was dope out there man." The guy passed Juice the nachos and drinks. "She ever think about teaching all that?"

"Nah, she's a doctor." He gave the man a small nod.

"Nachos." Bri smiled and accepted the cheesy goodness. "Thanks Juice."

"Welcome." He sipped his soda and smiled as she dug in.

**SOA**

"That was really fun." Bri smiled as Juice walked her to her car. "We need our second date to happen soon." She grabbed the front of his shirt when they reached the car, her lips finding his as he backed her against the luxury car, triggering the alarm.

Juice laughed as he continued to kiss the brunette. "Your car is killing our moment babe." He brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You sure you can drive? You look tired."

"I'm fine." Bri nodded as she got into her car. "You sure you don't want to come over?"

He nodded. "I have to get to the clubhouse early tomorrow."

"Understandable." She nodded. "I had a whole lot of fun, I hope the next date is even better."

"It will be, I promise." The biker chuckled. "Drive safe."

"I always do!" Bri started the car. "You drive safe!"

"Text me when you get home." Juice smiled and closed the door, watching her pull away slowly. He brought his fingers to hips lips, still feeling hers on his. The night had started and ended perfectly.

**July 4, 2008 **

Brianna Hohrykova adjusted her tank top again, frowning at the way it was falling. It was doing nothing but causing her problems as she grabbed a pair of scissors, quickly turning the tank into a crop top. "Better." She smiled and pulled on some loose threads, giving it an even better distressed look.

"You look like a foreigner." Eric rolled his eyes as he walked into Bri's room. "You trying to be something you're not?"

The brunette shrugged. "It's a party for the independence day for this country, least I can do is wear their flag on my ass." She laughed as she folded the waistband of the American flag leggings she had on. "They look decent, won't wear them any other time."

"Why party for a country that isn't your country?" The blonde looked at the woman before him.

"It's an excuse to drink, dance, and eat food... I love all three, though, I'm a bit worried that my drinking is getting out of control a little bit." Bri frowned as she teased her hair with her fingers. "Stay on standby, if I drink too much, I will probably need a lift home."

"Be safe about it." Eric stood from his perch on the chaise. "I will be out back with Monica and Monster."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Enjoy the day, Monica lives for holidays like this... I'll try to be home before you guys do them though." She watched as he stalked out of the room.

**SOA**

"Hey." Bri smiled as she walked over to Marcus Alvarez. "Thanks for inviting me Marcus."

He smiled, eyeing the beautiful brunette up and down quickly. "Heard you were back in town, thought I'd reach out. Missed having you around all the time, it seemed like you disappeared right along with Jacey..."

She nodded. "Caught up with school, becoming a doctor isn't easy... More stress than anything." She accepted a beer from him.

"That's right." He rasped. "I forgot that you were in medical school with my Daniela."

"Yup." Bri smiled. "How is she? I haven't talked to her in years..."

"She's good, she's probably around here somewhere." Marcus smiled. "Go, have fun, mingle."

"I'm going." She smile and turned away from him, holding her beer above her head as she snaked her way through the crowd. She made it to the dance floor, only to be knocked back by a Mayan. "Watch it!" She shoved him back.

"My bad!" The Mayan turned around, a smile on his handsome face as he held his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry, got a little too rowdy right there."

Bri rolled her eyes. "It's whatever." She tried to step around him, only to have him grab her hand.

"I'm Antonio, I've never seen you around here before." He smiled and dropped her hand. "You wanna dance?"

"I'm Bri, I haven't been around here too much..." The brunette smiled. "Yeah, I'll dance with you."

Antonio led the beautiful brunette onto the floor, his hands resting on her shapely hips as they grinded in time to the music. "What's your story? How does a beauty like you end up in Oakland at a Mayans bash?"

"I know Marcus and Esai." She smiled. "Old friends of mine... My best friend dated Esai."

"Invited by the boss man himself then?" The dark haired man turned the brunette around, his head resting on her shoulder.

"Yup, Marcus is my homie." Bri chuckled and turned back around to face him. If she wasn't dating Juice, she would have jumped at the chance to flirt her night away with the handsome man but she was determined to stay true to Juice. "So, you a big deal in the charter?" She traced his patch. "Los asesinos de dios."

He nodded. "Yeah, right behind my boy Esai... Working my way to be his V.P in the future. You know?"

"Yeah." The brunette smiled. "That's a good thing to work for."

"What're you working on?" Antonio rubbed her hips slowly as they moved off the dance floor.

"Plastic surgeon." She shrugged. "No big deal."

"Huge deal, brains and beauty... You're a catch." He smiled. "Let's keep in touch yeah?" He pulled his phone from his cut and passed it to her, watching as she typed in her information. "I gotta go though." He looked over her head, his eyes landing on his fiancée. "Later hermosa."

"Yeah, later." She smiled and moved forward towards the kegs as he walked past her.

Antonio pulled his soon to be wife into the corner, acknowledging the scowl on her gorgeous face. "What's wrong baby?"

"Who the hell was that trashy brunette you were chatting up? Huh, 'Tonio? Who was she? Your little side hoe?" The curly haired brunette glared at her fiancé.

"Daniela, calm down baby. She's a friend of Marc's... Tonight was the first time I met her, she asked me to dance, so I said yeah. It was harmless." He kissed his lady's forehead. "You want me to grab you a water?"

"No, no. I'm fine." Daniela rubbed her baby bump and forced a smile. She needed to talk to someone and she knew exactly where to find her.

**SOA**

The drunken Russian gripped a bottle of vodka in one hand and a bottle of soda in the other as she twisted her way through the party in search of a seat. Bri laughed as she lurched forward and caught herself before toppling forward.

"Alright, you're cut off." A large hand grabbed her hip, directing her towards the nearest seat. "I'll take these." He wiggled the bottles from from her hands.

"Marcus." She hiccupped before starting to giggle. "I wasn't finished with that!"

Marcus shook his head. "I never seen you like this before Brianna... Not even back in the day when you first used to party around here... You got some shit to talk about."

Bri looked at him. "Yeah, I'm sad Daniela is getting married and I'm not in the wedding."

The man sat down, moving closer to the young woman. "Yeah, you two were good friends huh?"

The brunette scoffed, if the man sitting next to her only knew how good of friends she was with his daughter. "Yeah, we were! Then bam, one day we weren't friends anymore."

"She met her future husband." Marcus looked at the grey eyed woman. "She's happy right now, but you stopped coming around when Esai and Jacey split up, didn't you?"

"No!" Bri shook her head. "I stopped coming around when Dani ended shit with me." She bit her lip as she realized what she just had let slip.

"What?" He cocked a brow at her, his interest filly piqued.

She sighed. "Your daughter, she ripped my fucking heart out for you Marcus! She picked a man over me!"

Marcus nodded slowly. "Friendships end Bri, ain't the end of the world... She moved on, you'll do it to."

Bri groaned, the man sitting next to her oblivious to what her drunken rant actually meant. "I was dating Daniela, she was my girlfriend, we slept together, we were in love... She broke up with me for a man to make you and your wife happy. She felt like you would disown her if she liked women." She stood up and stomped off before he could say anything to her, grabbing a bottle of vodka from a table as she walked outside, the unusually chill air cooling her tears as they fell.

**SOA**

Bri sniffled as she walked up the stairs to Jacey's apartment, her head already throbbing and her vision growing fuzzy. The ride over in the backseat of Eric's car did nothing but make her even more upset. "Dumb." She panted as she rang the doorbell, repeatedly.

"What?" Happy growled as soon as he opened the door, his Kimber pointed at the brunette.

Bri moved forward and wrapped her arms around Happy, burying her face in his shirt as she cried.

"Jacey!" Happy bellowed. "The Russian is here! Come get her now!" He backed into the apartment, trying to wiggle out of her grip. "Jacey, come get your damn Russian!" He sighed and went limp as the brunette continued to hug him and cry.

* * *

**Let me know what you thought. (: **


	10. Chapter 10 Drunks and Guns

**July 5, 2015**

Daniela Alvarez walked up the stairs to apartment 312. Her hands shaky as she replayed the sight at the party, her soon to be husband flirting with some trashy brunette wearing American flag leggings and horrible crop top. She wanted to slap him, call off the wedding and run and hide but she couldn't. All she could do was reach out to an old friend and rant. She hit the doorbell and exhaled as she waited for an answer.

Jacey slowly tugged the front door open, officially confused as to who was at her door now. "Daniela?" Jacey moved outside of the door, pulling it closed. "What's wrong?"

"I think my future husband is cheating on me!" She pouted and looked at Jacey. "He was talking to some brunette at the party... She was so trashy! She was wearing American flag print leggings Jacey! Who does that!?"

Jacey cocked an eyebrow at the beauty in front of her, trying not to laugh at what she'd just heard. "You're joking right? Did you see who the girl was?"

"No. No, I didn't see her face, just a whole lot of hair and trashy tattoos and leggings." She sighed and shook her head.

Jacey couldn't help herself this time, she had to laugh. "I'm sorry... This isn't funny but.. Babe, relax. Just some girl. Why don't you come in and get something to drink, maybe relax a little?"

Dani blinked at the smiling blonde. "Alright, I could use some water... What if it wasn't just some girl?" She followed her friend inside the apartment.

"What if it was? Then you'd be getting worked up over nothing and possibly hurting the baby..." Jacey led the curly haired beauty through the living room and into the kitchen, completely missing Bri now passed out of the couch. "Here." The blonde handed Daniela a glass of water.

"I'm just on edge... I don't know if it's hormones or the quickly approaching wedding." Dani took a sip of the water and smiled. "Nice place." She quickly scanned the space, her eyes landing on the sofa then going back to the blonde. "Wait..." She glanced back. "Jacey! That's the trashy brunette! I could pick out those leggings anywhere!"

Jacey covered her face with her hands. "I'm fully aware who that is... I'm sorry. I didn't know she'd push up on Tony when she mentioned she was going to the party."

"Who is she?" The brunette glared at the motionless woman on the sofa. "Who is she Jacey!? Can you at least tell me that much?"

Jacey shook her head. "You don't wanna know, Dani..."

Dani looked at Jacey. "God, so tonight, it was the first night they ever crossed paths?"

"Yes... She just came back to California. She's been gone for a little over a year..." Jacey nodded her head, her eyes on Bri's sleeping form.

Dani chuckled. "I feel dumb... I was ready to lay into Antonio for talking to her!"

"I wanna know what happened... Where'd you two go wrong? Last time I saw you two together, you couldn't stay away from each other..." Jacey walked back to the kitchen table and sat down in her preferred seat.

The brunette took a seat and shrugged. "It's my fault, the wedding keeps creeping closer and closer, I have this gnawing feeling that karma is going to catch up with me for what I did... I'm just waiting for the rug to be yanked out from under my feet."

"What happened with you and Bri? Why are you marrying Tony and having his baby? You loved her so much. I still remember me and E finding out about you two... You tried so hard to hide her in your room. What happened, D?"

"I was so in love with her but the fear of being disowned by my parents won out. I just wanted my parents proud, my dad was always setting me up with Ant, so I just went with it. Ended things with Bri, that shit was so hard to do... Her heart broke, I swear I heard it break. I tried to reach out to her but no luck." She lightly tapped on the table. "I regret ending things with her in that way."

Jacey shook her head. "You still love her or did Tony win ya over?"

"I still love her, I love him too." She frowned. "It's not an ideal situation."

Jacey nodded. Her understanding of the situation ran deep. "I know how that is..." She gave the brunette a small smile. "You gonna stay with Tony forever? Or end up regretting everything by sometime in your thirties?"

"I already regret so much... I want to stay with him though, he makes me happy. He takes good care of me, I don't even have to work." Dani frowned. "I kind of miss the whole dream of being a doctor, I wonder if Bri reached her dream of being a surgeon."

The blonde shook her head. "You really fucked her up, D. It's ugly. But I'm glad you're happy, if he makes you happy... Who am I to judge?" She nodded her head. "She's getting there..."

"She ever tell you how bad I fucked up when I ended it? God, I told her I didn't love her, that it was some experimentation." She wiped her eyes with her shirt. "I regret it, wish I could apologize even if she doesn't forgive me. That's good, I'm glad she didn't give up."

Jacey shook her head, her own tears forming. "She just left the country, D. She went to Sweden for over a year. The only reason she came back a month ago was because I called her, left a voicemail asking her to come to me because I needed her. Hap broke up with him and I was a wreck, D... And she came back. She didn't even tell me about you and her breaking up. She didn't even know about the shit with me and Esai... It was all one big stupid horrible mess!"

"Sweden? She used to talk about going there a lot... Of course she came back, once you get past the exterior, she's a pretty selfless person. That was a bad time for us all, you and E, went through so much... I just wish I could do it all over. She probably didn't even talk to anyone about the break up, you know how she is." Dani sighed, wiping her tears away.

The blonde shook her head. "I know you D... This isn't what you truly want. You, her, the whole relationship... You crave her... I see it on your face."

"I miss her so much Jacey... It's like, I can't even go a single day without something reminding me of her... I can't even look at fur without seeing Bri in that stupid white fur coat she wore during that weird super cold winter." Daniela chuckled. "That girl was a damn character and I miss it, her all the fucking time."

Jacey cocked an eyebrow at the brunette across from her. "Then why are you going through with the wedding?"

"It's the right thing to do, I'm pregnant with his kid." Dani shrugged as she rubbed her belly. "I'm having a boy, the wedding is paid for, so I have to do this. Plus, Brianna would never forgive me, let alone take me back..."

Jacey rolled eyes, shaking her head. "You're not even going to try to go after what you want, Daniela."

"How am I supposed to go after her like this? I'm pregnant, engaged, and I'm sure she would slam the door in my face if I show up to her house." Dani looked over at the brunette. "If she didn't answer, I'm sure Aleksandr would be there to chase me off, he hates my guts."

Jacey laughed, nodding her head. "That could be true... But how do you honestly _know_ all of that to be true? You won't try..." She shrugged, her blue eyes bright. "You have a bigger problem tonight when you go home. In her drunken stupor, she accidentally spilled your past to Marcus. You're welcome to stay in the guest room until morning though."

"What!? Please tell me you're fucking joking right now!" Daniela gaped at the blonde. "My dad is going to murder me J."

"Yes, just stay here for a while. It'll be ok!" The blonde smiled at Daniela.

"Alright." She nodded. "I'll stay here, I just hope it blows over quickly."

Jacey shrugged. "Stay here, I gotta go check on Happy... He should be asleep but who even knows... I'll be back."

Daniela eyed the now snoring brunette, her mind reeling, knowing the fall out of Bri telling her father everything was bound to be out of control.

**July 5, 2008 - Early Evening **

Juice smiled to himself as he watched Bri lift herself out of the swimming pool, giving him a glimpse of her tattooed body complete and unobstructed. "You always did look amazing in white Bri."

Bri smiled as she wrapped herself in a towel. "Thank you." She sat down on the chaise and watched him take a seat next to her. "So, what's up?"

"Not much, just wanted to see you, hang out with you for a little while… We haven't talked much since the date." He set his sunglasses on the table between them. "You're a busy woman Brianna…"

"Sorry, I had this stupid ass party to go to… That didn't end well for me, well it ended with me passed out on Jacey's sofa having weird ass tequila induced dreams." She twisted her hair and smiled as the water dripped all over her. "I'm just now over that giant ass hangover."

Juice frowned at the woman. "I remember you not even being able to tolerate a beer, when did you start knocking back all the hard liquor?"

"I don't know, some time after high school." She shrugged and slipped her aviators on her face, quickly glancing at the man at her side. "It makes me feel better unless I over do it then I get a massive hangover and cannot function until five in the evening."

"That doesn't seem so healthy, you may have a problem." He tapped her bare thigh with the toe of his boot catching her attention again. "You ever think about getting help?"

Bri nodded her head. "I don't have the time to get help right now, I'm swamped with work coming up… Am I supposed to toss away my opportunity because I may or may not have a serious drinking problem?"

"Yeah, actually." He moved and sat down next to her. "Wouldn't it smart to get the help before you start working? No one wants a drunk surgeon giving them new tits." He pulled Bri into a sitting position and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'll be there for you babe." He kissed her temple before smiling.

"Thanks for the concern and everything but I don't want any help right now." The brunette relaxed into his embrace. "I'll think seriously about it all though… I promise."

Juice shook his head and adjusted them on the lounge, pulling the woman on top of him. "Alright then Bri, I can't force you to do what you don't wanna do."

"Smart man for realizing that early." Bri looked up at him and smiled. "I do have to do some business related shit soon." She rolled off him and dropped the towel. "Gun business." She started towards the main house. "You coming or you gonna just lay there?"

The man hopped up, jogging over to the woman. "Guns?" He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her neck. "I always forget you're on the taller side of the spectrum."

"That a problem with you Ortiz?" She led him down a set of stairs and into her gun safe. "This is my inheritance, don't mess up a damn thing." She turned on all the lights and smiled as his jaw went slack.

"Holy shit." Juice walked toward the metal cages, smiling at all the high powered rifles. "I have this sudden urge to play call of duty."

Bri unlocked the cages for him. "Knock yourself out, these are just displays… They're fully functional but obviously not loaded." She pulled an AR-15 from it's shelf. "This one is my favorite by far, it's fully customizable, I have it in white."

He took the rifle from her and smiled at the weight of it in his hands. "These are way better quality than the AKs we get from the Irish." He mentally kicked himself for letting her know that club information.

"Yeah, well, you get what you pay for." She shrugged and pulled a few more rifles from their shelves. "I have a customer coming by to pick up their custom order."

"So you just do these orders here?" Juice looked at her through the scope and pretended to press the trigger, gauging whether she was going to flinch or not.

Bri shook her head. "Yeah, if I can get it done here I do it. Mostly Elijah and Igor do custom orders because they have more experience with it than I do. Don't get me wrong, I can name every gun and accessory we sell but I'm not too good with metal working and all that shit."

"Happy would be in heaven if he saw this place!" The handsome biker screwed on a silencer to a Kimber and smiled at the weight in his hand. "This is the type of gun he carries."

"I know, he's pulled it on me before." She laughed and shook her head. "You can have any of the hand guns laying around, they're on serialized or whatever." She pointed at all the various firearms laying on the work benches. "Just check to make sure they fire, the range is over there Juice."

Juice smiled as he closed the space between them, pulling her into a tight hug before moving away from her at the sound of a throat clearing.

"Am I interrupting something darlin'?" Jax smirked at the pair before moving closer towards them. "I came to pick up my gun Bri." He hugged the bikini clad brunette briefly as he eyed Juice. "You buying a gun?"

Juice shrugged. "Trying them out." He set the Kimber down and picked up the large Winchester rifle.

"Here." Bri set the black case on the table before popping it open quickly. "I hope you like it, it was a fun one to customize… Never had a silencer on a AR before."

Jax let out a whistle as he pulled his gun from the case. "It's something." He looked through the scope and smiled. "How much more do I owe you for this scope?"

"Nothing." She waved him off. "Friend's discount."

"I love it." He twisted on the silencer. "I still can't believe you guys managed to customize it this fucking well… I may put in an order for a few more if the guys want one."

Bri smirked and pushed a box of ammo towards him. "Try it out Jax."

"I have faith that it works." He raked his teeth over his bottom lip and nodded at the woman. "Nice ink, I don't think I've seen the one on your side."

"Newest addition." She turned to the side and let him see it. "If you need those rifles fast, you need to let me know what's up in the next week or so… If you don't it's going to be at least a two month wait… Got some power shifts happening within the company so we'll be backlogged for awhile."

Jax smiled. "Yeah, I got you Brianna." He closed his case and smiled. "I'll be in touch, I'll see you around. Juice, I'll see you when you get back to the clubhouse man."

"See ya Jax." Juice gave his vice president a slight nod before watching him disappearing from the room. "What's up with you and Jax?"

"Nothing, he helped me through some shit with Jacey, all the fallout from the Malibu thing." Bri shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry about it Juice, it's not that type of friendship." She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled his body against hers and nipped at his jaw. "I'm all about you baby." She wrapped her arms and looked up at him. "Now, let's play with the guns now."

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**Let me know what you thought... I always love hearing your feedback on the story. (:**


	11. Chapter 11 Banks and Rain

**July 8, 2008**

Bri adjusted her blouse as she sat at her desk, bullshitting her way through all the useless files everyone kept dropping on her to sift through for them. She was on her wits end with the mind numbing secretarial duties she was being forced to do by the doctors and nurses who just tended to ride her off as a ditz. She glanced up as her office door opened. "Dr. Banks."

"Ah, Katarzyna." The handsome dark haired man smiled down at the brunette. "I came here to talk to you about being my mentee, it's my thing to pull in a resident. Take them under my wing, I think you have the potential to be an amazing surgeon, we just have to groom you." He took a seat across from her desk and smiled at her. "What do you say?"

"Oh, wow!" The brunette smiled and nodded. "I thought you were just going to take me on as another resident, not a in training doctor…"

He smirked. "I was until I saw you at work with the test bodies… I was very impressed with the nose job you did."

"Dr. Banks, that means the world to me, hearing you compliment me." Bri felt herself blush.

"Please, call me Lucius." Lucius leaned forward in his chair and lightly rested his hands on the desk. "I'll set up your schedule and have my nurse walk it over… I'll see you around Katarzyna." He stood up and left the office as quickly as he had arrived.

She relaxed in her office chair as her heart beat slowed back down, this was the moment she had worked so hard for. The acknowledgement of her skill from a surgeon she idolized, a man who just weeks ago had signed her on to be just a resident was now having her be his was going to learn from the best in the world. "Finally."

"Hey." Lucius walked back into her office. "I wanted to see if you wanted to grab lunch… I know it's almost your lunch break Kat."

"Yeah, sure." She logged out of her computer and stood up. "You're the first person in this place to reach out to me." She grabbed her purse and looked over to him to find him staring at her intensely. "What?"

He smirked at her. "Nothing, I just never had the chance to take a good look at you… You're what? Ukrainian? Russian?"

"Russian." Bri replied proudly.

"Ahh, I can hear it now." Lucius nodded and pulled open the door for her. "After you Katarzyna."

"You can call me Bri or Brianna." The brunette stated as they walked through the office, earning curious glances from her coworkers.

He shrugged and hit the elevator button. "I actually like Katarzyna better, it's a beautiful name if I do say so myself."

"Alright." Bri smiled as she hit the button for the first floor. "Where are we grabbing lunch anyways?"

Lucius smiled as they walked out of the building and towards the parking lot. "I was thinking Mexican or Italian… You have a preference?"

"Not really, I'm quite fond of both." She paused in front of her car. "Which car is yours?"

"This one." He pointed towards an all black Bentley sitting next to her Audi. "It was my birthday present to myself."

Bri admired the sleek car with a wide smile. "Way to make my car look like a damn toyLucius.." She shook her head as he opened the passenger door for her. "I could really use one of these cars in my life."

"It's a smooth ride." The handsome doctor smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Your Audi looks good, it's a good starter car… The other residents are taking the bus to work or driving little messed up cars."

"Starter car?" She glanced at him. "I'm offended, I actually started off with a BMW, then moved to a Benz before dabbling with an Aston Martin a few weeks. I settled with this car because I have a special lucky Lamborghini that I absolutely love but it's just not practical enough to drive especially when I have my niece Monica in town."

He chuckled. "I didn't mean to offend you, I just didn't know it wasn't your first car…"

"What kind of person gets their first car at twenty-five?" Bri studied his profile.

"Excuse me." He looked at her and made a clucking noise with his tongue. "I don't know, normal ones who are putting themselves through college and pick paying rent over car notes. I didn't get my first one until I was that age."

"I was sixteen when I got my first car." She smiled. "It was a silver BMW with my initials on the back window, birthday gift."

He chuckled. "Oh, you're one of those rich girls are ya?" He pulled into the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant, cutting the car off. "Tell me more…"

Bri sighed and sagged into the plush leather seat. "I grew up in Russia, vacationed all over Europe… Came to the states, lived in Queens… My family is one of the largest arms dealers in the world. I was privileged but I didn't let it get completely to my head."

"Is that why your last name sounds familiar?" He opened his door and watched her do that same. "That's pretty cool… Why'd you choose to become a plastic surgeon though? Don't tell me Dr 90210 inspired you or I'll have to rethink the offer I made you."

"It is… I decided to become a plastic surgeon after I had my nose broken when I was fourteen and the doctor had fixed it." She touched her nose and frowned. "This wasn't the initial result, I had it broken a few years ago during a coffee shop mishap."

Lucius reached out and touched her nose. "That's an easy fix if you ever want it to happen."

"I've tried to get it fix, the doctor I went to said it would be a risky surgery." She took a seat as her phone started to chime, she looked down at the screen and smiled as she started to read the text from Juice. "I'll schedule a consultation with you soon if you can actually fix it."

"So you're a rich soon to be cosmetic surgeon, who drives around in an Audi… Should I assume you have a weird obsession with diamonds?" Lucius shook his head as her eyes went wide. "You are, aren't you!"

Bri blushed and nodded. "Yeah, guilty as charged. I love furs and diamonds… What about you? Do you have any weird obsessions?"

"My weird obsession is breaking noses in the operating room." He looked at the menu before looking back at her, studying the way her grey eyes quickly scanned her menu. "I don't want to seem too forward but do you have a boyfriend? I saw the way you smiled at your phone when you received that text…"

"He's not my boyfriend, we have a extensive past, we just went on our first date… We're taking it day by day." She shrugged as she set her phone down on the table face down. "Do you have a girlfriend? Wife? Kids?"

"No, I'm very happily single with no kids. I'm a young dude Katarzyna." Lucius closed his menu and flashed a grin at the gorgeous Russian. "Lucky man whoever he is…"

Bri rolled her eyes. "No way you're single! Look at you…"

The man blushed. "Thanks, I get that reaction a lot… My job keeps me occupied, takes a special woman to realize that, to accept it. I tried dating a nurse, I would not recommend that shit. Dating in the office is a big mistake."

"I will try to remember that but I don't think I'd date anyway, they all write me off as a secretary… I don't get it though." She sighed and smiled at the waitress before reciting her order quickly and listening to Lucius do the same.

"It's because you come off as a rich girl… No one takes you seriously because they feel like they're working harder than you… I assume your schooling is paid for, no student loans, no part time job." Lucius grabbed the young woman's hands and slowly rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles. "You have to stand up for yourself, you're working just as hard as they are, you can't let them treat you like less because you could afford to focus on just school without wondering how to pay for it."

Bri frowned and looked at the man. "I don't know how to be anything other than what I am now… How do I shed my rich girl image? Pretend to be a struggling medical student when it all comes easy to me? _If_ it were up to me, I'd shoot everyone that I'm doing the residency with."

He laughed. "If I hear about them all dying, I know what happened…" He dropped her hands as his own phone started to chime, he looked at the screen before texting a quick reply. "Or prove to them why you're there… You're one of the best young doctors we have in our program, so let them know why you're being picked over them to be my shadow."

"Pretty sure they'll assumed I fucked you to get the spot." She tapped her nails on the table and looked around the tiny restaurant. "I've been living here for a few years and have never encountered this place, ever."

"Hidden gem." He shrugged. "You better not come here with anyone else, this is my secret spot that I'm sharing with you… You can't share it with anyone else."

Bri held her hands up. "You don't have to worry about it… I don't even know who'd I even bring here anyways."

He shook his head as the waitress set their food down in front of them. "Don't tell me you're the only child as well…"

"No! I'm the second youngest…" She looked at her plate of tacos and smiled. "I have a younger sister, some older sisters and older brothers."

"I have two older sisters who used to enjoy trying to dress me up in their clothes." Lucius shook his head as he watched Bri basically drown her tacos in hot sauce and lime. "That can't be too healthy… That amount of hot sauce."

Bri met his eyes. "So?" She took a bite of her taco and smiled. "It's good, not everything needs to be healthy… You're not a health freak right?"

"No, but I do workout and try to eat healthy." He smiled at the brunette. "Is that going to be problem for you?"

"No as long as you don't try to push it on me we're fine… I already workout and eat somewhat clean so I'm good." She smiled at him once more as she started to eating her tacos again. Her mind wandering to Juice and what he was doing.

**July 9, 2008**

"Juice." Bri nudged him in his side as she attempted to untangle herself from his heavy limbs. "Juice!"

"Go back to sleep." Juice looked at her through one eye and smirked. "Why are you trying to get out of bed for anyways?" He tightened his grip around the woman's waist and dragged her even closer to his body.

The brunette yawned. "I have to take Monica and register her for real school, I don't want her to be homeschooled… I need her to be sociable and not just with adults… It's weird that a six year old's best friend is a man in his forties."

He nodded his head as he buried his face in her hair. "You still smell like after a rain storm… How the fuck is that possible?"

"I don't know." She shrugged and flipped around to stare at him. "I don't smell that… Still to this day I cannot pick up that smell, to me I smell like vanilla and melon." She sniffed her hair and sighed.

Juice let her go. "You do smell like rain though." He sat up and watched her slink out of the giant bed. "I can't believe we slept together without sleeping together."

Bri smirked as she pulled on a pair of yoga pants. "I don't know what to wear to sign her up for school… Should I wear mom looking stuff or doctor looking stuff? I sure as hell can't wear a Bri outfit because it'd show too much skin."

"I'm coming in!"

"See, it's like she knows when I mention her." The woman pulled a shirt over her head as the door swung open, Monica strutting in and Monster on her heels. "What's up Moni? You excited to go to real school?"

Monica shrugged, her green eyes trained on Juice. "What's he here for?"

Bri shrugged. "I needed someone to cuddle with and he was the one I thought of when you denied me little one… Why do you have a problem with Juice?"

"Maybe…" She cut her green eyes away to look into dark grey ones. "Aleksandr doesn't like him so I don't like him either."

"Ah." The brunette frowned. "I think you should get to know Juice, he's a fun guy. Isn't that right Juice?"

Juice sat up and looked between the similar looking brunettes and smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty cool Monica… I hope you and I can be friends, it'd make me happy."

Monica nodded and walked over to the bed and climbed up. "What's with your hair?" She ran a small hand over his mohawk and frowned. "Why not grow it or shave it all off? It looks so silly!"

"Yeah, it looks silly." Bri stuck her tongue out at the man.

"I love it, it gives me character. It's how my hair grows now… The tattoos on the sides of my head keep me from growing hair there!" He chuckled as the mini version of Bri smiled at him.

She shook her head. "That's so weird! Is that why Happy has no hair? Because the tattoo on his head keeps him from growing any?"

"Yes." Juice laughed. "That's exactly why he has no hair. He's cool though, isn't he?"

Monica stitched her brows together in thought. "He was cool until he was mean to Bri… I have to take her side and not like him."

"I like Happy we're just not friends because he likes name calling." Brianna looked at Monica as she shoved her feet into her sneakers. "You can be friends with Happy if you want to be, I just probably won't be his friend."

"Really?" The young girl bounced off the bed and wrapped her arms around her aunt's legs and squeezed tightly. "I can hang out with Jacey and her meanie face?"

"Yes my dear you can." Bri laughed and picked up the girl. "First, we have to get you in school. Then we can go shopping and get you what you need to start school in September. You'll love going to a real school, you'll make so many friends Monica Hohrykova."

"I'm going to go tell Aleksandr!" She dropped from Bri's grip and bolted out of the room without even a goodbye.

"You're really good with her." Juice grabbed the brunette's waist and kissed her lips softly. "You ever think about having kids of your own?"

"All the time." Bri smirked and kissed him softly. "I somehow caught baby fever but I want to finish up my residency and be in a serious relationship before I commit to raising a child with someone."

He nodded and smiled. "Yeah? I'll keep that in mind then." He laced his fingers through hers as he rested his forehead against hers. "We'll be serious in no time Brianna."

* * *

**Starting to build friendships and relationships... Let me know what you thought.**


	12. Chapter 12 Assumptions

**July 15, 2008**

Bri walked out of the operating room, letting her long brown hair down before pausing to shake it out, the breast augmentation had gone a lot longer than she expected and she was feeling it. Her energy level was nonexistent and all she could think about was going home, taking a hot shower then crawling into her bed and sleeping until she couldn't physically sleep anymore. She tucked her surgeon's cap into her scrub pocket and headed towards the elevator that'd take her back to her floor.

"Katarzyna…" Lucius grabbed the young lady's arm, recoiling away when she turned around abruptly. "Whoa, whoa." He held up his hands and chuckled. "On edge?"

"Sorry." She rubbed her forehead and shook her head. "That surgery just was long as hell and I already had low energy going into it…"

He nodded. "Yeah, well none of us expected it to take that long… She just wasn't made for implants and the ones she had put in previously were fucking botched." He followed her onto the elevator. "You did good though, your sutures were perfect."

Bri smiled. "I do pride myself on closing things up perfectly…" She covered her mouth as she let out a long yawn. "I just need to go home and sleep away my days off." She wiped her face as she walked out of the elevator and towards her office. "You have any big plans for your days off?"

Lucius sat down in her office chair, his eyes scanning over the various family photos littering the glass desk. "How do you have a desk that's nicer than mine?" He frowned as he rubbed his hands over the cool, smooth surface.

"I bought it and set it up." She shrugged as she grabbed her purse and clothes from the bottom drawer of her filing cabinet. "It too could be yours if you go out and buy one… I love that it reads Russian Ice Princess most of the time…"

"Ahh, go figures." He shrugged. "I was actually, casually stalking you to see if you wanted to hang out this weekend?"

Bri paused before turning to look at him. "Sure, I can pencil you in for Sunday, but I have my niece in town for longer than I initially expected, so we're a packaged deal and for the heads up, she's a shrunken version of me with a whole lot more attitude."

"Fine with me…" Lucius stood up. "I'll see you Sunday then Kat… Have a good weekend."

"Yeah, you too." She smiled and shook her head when she heard the door click closed quietly. "Wait… Did he just ask me out on a date?" She asked herself as she slung her purse over her shoulder and headed out the office and towards the elevator again, a sense of impending doom washing over her.

**SOA**

Bri looked at her phone's screen, rolling her eyes at she read the texts coming in from her sister Nikola, telling her that she'd be in town soon and would need a place to crash. The brunette quickly sent a reply before tossing the phone towards the foot of her bed, ignoring all the chimes as she closed her eyes.

"Bri!" Juice walked into the dimlit bedroom, his nose assaulted by the smell of vanilla and lavender. "Are you sleep already?" He moved towards the bed, his fingertips dancing over her forehead.

She shook her head and swatted his hand away. "I'm not asleep but I'm trying to go to sleep, what're you here for?" She turned her head slightly to look at the man standing at the side of the bed. "Did I miss something? Oh God, were we supposed to hang out tonight?"

"No, no." He shook his head. "I just wanted to surprise you is all… I guess I succeeded doing so." He softly sat next to her. "I can leave if you're too tired to entertain me…"

Bri rolled her eyes and sat up. "I may fall asleep entertaining you so let's get to the chase, what're you here to talk to me about?"

"Well, I have to go on a run soon…" Juice began and paused when she cocked an eyebrow at him. "For the club, over to Arizona, it'll keep me away for a least a week, maybe more and I just wanted to see where you and I were at relationship wise…"

The brunette closed her eyes, trying to find the perfect way to answer his question. "If you're asking if I'm only dating you, then yeah I'm only dating you exclusively, I'm also not sleeping around with anyone else if you were about to ask that… I meant it when I said that I was all about you Juice."

"I'm just asking because I am only dating you…" He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead and rolled his eyes as she reached out and ran a nail over the tribal tattoo on the right side of his head. "You have a long ass day at work?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I did… So many sets of fake titties today." She frowned and looked down at her chest. "Glad I was blessed because the surgery looking painful as all hell."

"Where's your sidekick at?" Juice looked around the room surprised not to see any sign of six year old Monica around. "She leave?"

"No, she's asleep…" Bri shrugged. "She had a slight fever when I got home, then proceeded to puke all over me, requiring me to take a longer shower than I had planned."

"Oh shit, she a grumpy pain in the ass when she's sick like you were?" He slipped his cut off and set it on the nightstand as he rolled over her body and took a spot laying at her side. "Don't think I forgot how mean you are when you're sick."

She chuckled and nodded. "She's a bigger grump than me, hands down… She's a sleeper though, like she just sleeps the fever off… I'll probably go check on her soon, if she's too warm I'll probably cuddle her until it breaks."

Juice pulled the brunette into his side and smiled. "I remember when you were sick, I brought you over some chicken noodle soup and ended up wearing it."

"I told you! I don't fuck with chicken noodle soup, I don't like the noodles, if anything just bring me some broth and I'll be set." Bri poked at his arm. "Are you trying to sleep over tonight or what Juan Carlos?"

"I would like to sleep over… It's too late for me to be making the ride home." He yawned and toed his boots off and smiled when they made a soft thud on the carpeted floor. "Your bed is fucking comfortable…" He rolled to his side and cuddle up against her, burying his face into her soft hair.

The brunette yawned. "Thanks, I love my bed…" She rubbed the side of his head and smiled. "I still can't get over the fact you cut all your gorgeous ass hair off to get a mohawk and tribal tattoos… I think you need to grow it back out."

He nodded. "I'll think about it, just for you Brianna." He kissed her neck before sinking his teeth into the sensitive skin softly. "You even taste good…" He groaned into the side of her neck.

"That's not the only part of me that tastes good." She mumbled as she felt his hand squeeze her hip.

Juice sat up and looked at the woman beside him. "Yeah, I'm gonna need a midnight snack…" He moved down her body and smirked when he came to a rest between her legs. "I'm definitely going to need a midnight snack."

"You're a damn fool Juice." Bri laughed as she felt him start to toy with the legs of her sleep shorts. "Don't start shit you aren't ready to finish…"

"Oh, I'll start and finish this task happily." He tugged her shorts down her legs and tossed them to the floor. "This is going to be the best snack ever…" He smirked up at her.

**July 17, 2008**

"Hey, hey." Lucius smiled at the two brunettes who were seated in the food court, an Icee in front of both of them as they smiled back at him. "You must be Monica." He held out his hand, surprised that the young girl grabbed it and shook it. "Amazing grip…"

Monica smiled. "Aleksandr taught me that a good grip makes for an amazing first impression, so I've been practicing." She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ears before turning her gaze back on her aunt who was sipping her Icee.

Bri smiled and slid over to Lucius could sit next to her. "I will kill you for suggesting that we meet at the commons… I've spent so much money, it's insane and all your fault." She frowned and gestured to the bags she had tucked underneath the table.

He shook his head. "That's all you… So, let me get straight down to why I asked you to hang out today…"

"Oh! Do you like Bri?" Monica rested her elbows on the table and looked at man. "You're handsome."

"I like her as a friend." Lucius looked at the little girl and smirked. "I asked you to hang out so I could get to know you… I have this amazing feeling that when you're a few years into your career that you'll make the perfect partner… Something I'm interested in, I want to start up a firm, work with the best up and coming young surgeons."

"Are you old?" The six year old reached across the table as she stood on her seat and rubbed the man's beard. "You don't look old…"

He shook his head. "I'm thirty-two." He smiled at the girl before pointing down to her seat. "You should sit down before you become my next patient."

Monica sat back down. "I don't want to have surgery on my face!"

"Then keep your butt in its seat and you won't need surgery my dear." Bri smiled at her niece and winked at her. "Are you serious about this whole partner thing? How would it work? Would it be Banks-Hohrykova or what?"

Lucius nodded. "Yes, you would be an equal partner in the firm… You'd have say in who we hire and staff… The services we offer, I already know you like nose jobs, my specialty is breasts, so we're good there. Maybe bring in someone who does lip or what have you… This is just a rough draft, if you're into it and after you have some experience under your belt, then we can talk more, get lawyers involved and see how much it would cost to start it all up and maintain it."

The brunette smiled wide, her grey eyes filled with excitement. "I would love that! It sounds perfect, I know it may be a few years away but still, I feel so honored that you thought of me to be a partner…" She ran a hand through her hair and stared at the handsome man. "I cannot wait to tell my dad about this, he's going to be so proud and know that med school was worth every penny he banked into it."

He smiled. "I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about this Katarzyna… I know that I picked the right doctor to bring this opportunity to." He looked at Monica. "Are you going to be coming to work with her?"

"Maybe! I want to be a boss though, I want to boss everyone around and make them do the jobs I don't want to." Monica crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. "I'm going to rule the world! I promise you that."

Bri sighed. "That's the Russian in her speaking… Always wanting to boss the rest of the world around, I love it." She smiled proudly at her little mini me. "She's my baby boss, mini mogul, head honcho in training…"

"Yes! I'm what she said!" The green eyed beauty smiled. "I will be the richest person ever! Then I'll give you two monies for your business!"

Lucius clapped. "Our first investor is six years old, I'm amazed." He smiled and held his fist out and chuckled when she bumped her smaller fist against it. "How about I treat you two to Cinnabon since we're all partners now?"

"I'll allow you to do that." Bri nodded. "I'm always down for a cinnamon roll, they're my weakness, especially when I'm stressed."

"I'll be right back then." He stood up and walked towards the store.

"I like him, he reminds me of a werewolf." Monica watched him disappear into the crowd.

"Yeah, he looks like Alcide from True Blood." Bri laughed and grabbed the girl's hands. "I think he's going to be our best friend…" She smiled and bobbed her head at the aspect of being a partner at a Cosmetic Surgery firm. Her dreams were slowly coming true and she couldn't be happier about it all.

* * *

Juice smiled as he walked out of the GNC store, his new powders and vitamins loading his hands down as he walked into the food court, his brown eyes landing on a familiar pair of brunettes who were sitting at a table and laughing. He paused, straightening himself out, preparing to walk up and talk to them. He rolled his shoulders back, starting towards the table when a tall man walked over to the table. "The fuck?" He continued to watch the scene unfold, his heart jumping into his throat as he watched the man sit down next to Bri.

He turned around, trying to will his feet to carry him away from the scene as fast as they could. He couldn't believe it, she had lied to him about only dating him exclusively. He felt dumb, mostly hurt over the situation. He was getting a taste of his own medicine and he didn't like it one bit, good thing he had the upcoming run to keep him preoccupied.

* * *

**Uh oh, let me know what you thought... (:**


	13. Chapter 13 Vows & Betrayals

**July 26, 2008**

Brianna smiled at her reflection in her full length mirror. Her dress was perfect, showed off her best assets; cleavage and legs. It also happened to be in her favorite color, white. Making her look like an ethereal beauty, she was bound to turn heads at her ex Daniela's wedding.

"You look like a model!" Monica flipped off the bed and skipped around her aunt, admiring the dress. "Where are you going?"

"To a wedding." Bri applied her favorite lipstick before kissing her niece. "Red lips for my princess."

The young girl smiled, checking her own reflection in the mirror. "Who's wedding? Are Jacey and Happy getting married?"

"No, my love. Daniela, she's an old friend of mine. She's getting married, so Jacey and I are going." The brunette applied more mascara, in an attempt to make her grey eyes pop even more than they were already. "I'll see if I can bring you home some cake."

"Oh! Daniela was your girlfriend right?" The six year old struck a pose and giggled when her aunt mimicked her.

Bri nodded. "You don't miss a damn thing do you my girl?" She rolled her eyes and pouted. "Do I look amazing Monica? Be honest with me, please?"

"You look phenomenal!" She clapped her hands. "I'd touch you but I don't want to get you dirty!"

"I have to go get Jacey." The older brunette squatted down, kissing all over the girl's face, leaving red lip prints all over. "Be good for Elijah, okay baby? I love you."

Monica smiled. "I love you too." She brushed a curl out of the brunette's face. "Go have fun, I'll be good for Eli!"

"You better be good." Bri stood back up. "I will see you later tonight, sleep in my bed if you want to darling. Bye." Bri walked effortlessly in her heels, as she descended the stairs one by one, slowing down her schedule, her heart to fucked up to rush to the wedding. "You can do this." She exhaled and grabbed her keys off the hook. "Lamborghini for looks and luck."

"Where are you going?" Aleksandr looked at the dressed up young woman, a frown on his face.

"Daniela's wedding." Bri didn't even turn to face the man. "I just need the closure, to see her happy, well, and possibly in love... You don't need to tell me how torturous this may be to my already damaged heart, I just need to do this, alright?"

He nodded as he hugged her. "I'll be here for you to cry to, just in case my darling Katarzyna." He placed a kiss to the top of her head. "Don't, just don't run off and leave Monica behind, she's in need of a mom in her life these days."

"I won't leave." She turned around and smiled. "I have to go, Jacey is waiting on me."

"Have fun." Aleksandr nodded.

Bri turned back around. "I will have fun, I'll try to have fun, I probably won't have any fun." She pulled open the front door and closed it behind her, feeling her resolve falter.

Brianna jammed her thumb against the doorbell repeatedly, trying to get her best friend to answer her apartment door. "Come on Jacey." She started banging on the door with her palm when it flew open, a very angry Happy glaring at her. "Is Jacey ready?"

"Jacey!" He yelled. "Your friend is here! The Russian!"

Bri stepped back, holding her dress up so it wouldn't touch the ground as she waited for Jacey, her eyes trained on the 312 on the door Happy was half blocking with his body. "Blah, blah, blah, blah." She turned her back to the man, as she began mumbling in Russian.

"I'm ready Bri." Jacey slipped under her boyfriend's arm. "I'm running late, something came up."

"It's fine." Bri turned around slowly and smiled at the blonde. "I love your dress J."

"I love yours... You trying to show up the bride?" The blonde cocked a brow at her friend.

"No." The brunette shrugged. "Just aiming to make her remember the past. I brought a new toy, I'll let you drive it on the way back."

Jacey smiled. "Just give me five minutes to say bye to Happy."

"I'll be downstairs then, take your time Jacey." Bri smiled and started down the stairs, her mind becoming full of old memories of her and Daniela. Bri leaned against her car, her eyes trained on her phone as she heard the click of heels on the pavement.

"I so need to drive this now!" Jacey rounded the car, a smile on her gorgeous face. "Why do you have this car? The Audi wasn't enough B?"

The brunette shrugged and got into the convertible. "It was a gift from a friend for my twentieth birthday… I just don't drive it because it's not a practical car."

"I can't go in just yet." Bri looked at Jacey and shook her head. "You, you go in and be a bridesmaid or whatever it is that you are." She tugged on the skirt of her white dress and frowned as she looked around, her confidence lowering as she watched guests trickle into the venue.

Jacey rolled her eyes. "If I don't take you in with me now, you may never actually make it inside… Follow me in, then hold up in the bathroom, you just need to be inside and not out here like a damn weirdo."

"Fine." The brunette sighed and allowed the blonde to drag her inside of the venue, her stomach flipping and flopping as she spotted all the cuts. "I'm really thinking this is a bad idea, especially after the whole drunken spilling of the beans…"

"Obviously it wasn't a _huge_ deal if the wedding is still happening." She swiped a flute of champagne off a passing waiter's tray. "Drink this, try to look a little happy at least… I need to go make sure Dani knows I'm here and I also need to see who I'm walking down the aisle with."

Bri smirked. "It's probably going to be E." She sipped the champagne slowly as she looked at the blue eyed vixen. "Go, be happy, support your friend." She shuddered at the thought, almost two years and she had forgotten all about Jacey and Daniela remaining friends.

"Don't jinx me like that!" Jacey playfully smacked her best friend on the arm. "I will see you after the whole ceremony, don't drink too many of those… Definitely don't want to be babysitting your drunk ass Brianna."

"This will be my only glass, I promise you that." Bri nodded and watched her best friend saunter away. "Yay, my lesbian ex girlfriend is getting married to a damn man…" She muttered to herself as she walked to the doors, peeking in and watching the guests mingle as they buzzed around the seats, drinks in hand. She moved away from the door, towards the empty bar, resting her back against it as she scanned the space for a bathroom.

"Would you like another drink?" A red haired waitress looked at Bri.

Bri shook her head. "No, one is my limit, this is a big day." She set her empty flute on the tray and moved towards the bathroom quickly. She stopped in front of the first available mirror, smirking at her reflection before teasing her hair and adjusting the top of her dress to reveal more cleavage. She groaned as she heard the music start up, no doubt signaling the start of the ceremony.

Jacey looked at the man she was standing next to, it had been awhile since she had last saw him. "This is fun."

Esai smirked. "You look good Jacey." He checked her out quickly as the bridesmaids and groomsmen pairs started walking ahead of them. "Maybe we can talk after this is done? At the reception…"

"Maybe." She shrugged as they followed their signal to start their walk down the aisle. "Just so you know, I'm here for Daniela, not to chat with you." She gave him another smile before they split up, him taking a place next to Antonio while she took a spot beside the other bridesmaids. She cast one last glance at her ex boyfriend before the guests stood and the generic 'Here Comes The Bride' started to play.

Bri snuck into the room while Daniela and Marcus were walking down the aisle, half hiding behind a tall flower decorative piece as she watched the woman she was so in love with take her place on the stage. She fiddled with the clasp on her clutch as she took the only empty seat in the room, one she was grateful for. She looked at the altar, her eyes meeting Jacey's, she smiled at the blonde briefly.

Jacey stood at her friend's side, her eyes becoming misty as she looked at the couple who were on the verge of tears themselves. She looked back at Bri, who was staring straight ahead, her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. She had blanked on the fact that Bri hadn't known Daniela was pregnant. She did her best to catch the brunette's attention but failed with every attempt.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride…" The minister smiled and the guests stood up and cheered the newly wed couple as they turned and faced the door.

Bri stood up, her arms at her side as the couple made their way down the aisle, she slightly pursed her lips as she made eye contact with Antonio before locking eyes with Daniela, whose mouth was hanging wide open as if she had just seen a damn ghost. "Congratulations." She smirked, her accent thick from her anger.

"Thank you." Antonio smiled at the brunette as he led his wife out of the room and into the main room as their guests filed out behind them.

"She's fucking pregnant!?" Bri gripped Jacey's arm and pulled her into the bathroom. "Why didn't you tell me that shit Jacey!?" She smacked the stall with her palm, before kicking at the door with the heel of her shoe. "I wouldn't even had come with you!"

"Relax." Jacey rolled her blue eyes at the woman. "You wanted to come, now you're here so deal with it Bri...Yeah she's pregnant but it's not like you were here to win her back or some shit right?"

The brunette shrugged. "I'm here to see if she was happy, maybe make her a little bit jealous, hence the dress… I'm wearing white like _I'm_ the bride…"

"She looked happy, she looked happy to me at least." The blonde checked her reflection in the mirror before turning back to look at her friend. "It's a wedding, maybe your future husband is out there…"

Bri sighed. "I didn't know Antonio was the groom, I feel bad for letting him have my number at that stupid ass party." She adjusted her strapless bra before pulling open the bathroom door and walking out ahead of Jacey. "I'm going to need a stiff drink or something Jacey." She paused as Esai walked towards them

"I heard you were here, didn't think it was true." Esai looked at the brunette, his bright eyes flickering to the blonde at her side before settling on her face. "You think it was funny to blab to my dad about some college thing between you and Dani?"

"I was drunk and in my emotions." Bri rolled her eyes. "I just came here to see her be married and happy… Not to start any drama Esai."

The handsome man rubbed a hand over his face. "You couldn't have just sent her a card? Why are you wearing a white dress?" He tugged on the flimsy material.

"I wanted to see it for myself." The brunette smacked his hand away. "You know how I felt about her Esai…"

"I know that you should leave before she sees you and gets upset, she's pregnant, she doesn't need the stress of her big mouthed ex on her wedding day." Esai turned the woman around and lightly pushed her towards the exit. "You're not going to want my dad or my mom to see you around here either, they both have some choice words to share with you Brianna, so please, just leave."

"She's my plus one." Jacey finally butted in. "I want her here, she's my ride home E."

"I'll find you a ride home, I just don't think she needs to be here right now Jacey." He looked at his ex girlfriend. "You think she should be here? Would you want to be around if your ex were getting married?"

"I'll go Jacey." Bri passed her friend the car keys. "I'll have Aleksandr send a car for me...I'm fine." She rolled her shoulders back as she started to walk off, only to freeze as she saw Dani walk towards her.

"Brianna…" Daniela looked at the taller brunette and shook her head. "What are you doing here? You weren't invited."

"I get that." The brunette blushed and looked at her manicure. "I came here with Jacey… I was just about to leave because apparently I'm not even welcome around here."

The bride dragged the woman towards the empty room. "You have to go Bri, I'm sorry."

Bri nodded slowly. "Alright, I'm sorry I even showed up here." She pulled her phone out of her clutch and started texting Aleksandr. "I'll wait in here until Aleksandr tells me he's outside waiting for me… Is that okay with you or do you want me to wait outside Daniela?"

Daniela paused and looked at the gorgeous woman standing in front of her. "You can wait in here Brianna… I just don't want this drama on my wedding day."

The brunette nodded. "I just wanted to see you one last time, old times sake, make sure you were actually happy with this, this wedding."

"I'm happy… 'Tonio, he treats me well, I'm having his son Brianna." She rubbed her belly and smiled at the woman. "I think you should move forward and find someone who makes you happy… I know what we had in the past and I will never forget it but you have to just let it go now."

Bri blinked at the curly haired brunette. "Antonio seems like he's an asshole…" She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "I don't think you fucking realize how much you broke me Daniela… I still haven't come back from that shit, how could you sit there and tell me I was just some fucking college experiment? Why couldn't you just tell me you didn't want to be with me anymore?"

With the mention of the break up, Daniela broke, her eyes become wet with unshed tears as she watched Brianna go through her emotions so openly. "It seemed easier that way, like I didn't want you to still want me, still hold on to hope, that I may just go against my family. We were dumb to think I could be with you, that we could be together. I needed you to hate me, not want a damn thing to do with me. I felt so fucking guilty, I still feel so guilty handling it that way Brianna but I couldn't do it… My parents were pushing me to Antonio, to marrying him, so that's why we are here."

Bri turned around, her eyes landing on Jacey and Esai who had just walked into the room. "Great, an audience." She turned back towards her ex girlfriend. "You, you weren't supposed to be the one who broke me like that Dani… I told you every single detail of what Juan did to me, you nearly did the same, shit, our breakup was worse than the one I had with him… I left the country to get over it and stayed gone for nearly two years… I went to Sweden, remember how we had plans to go there for our anniversary?"

Dani nodded her head and wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry okay, it wasn't my intention to do that to you… I was hoping you knew that we weren't going to end up together. It's terrible, I get it. I shouldn't have even let us become serious but it just happened and it was amazing, the feelings and the chemistry just came naturally."

"You can't help who you fall in love with, you always told me that but you didn't even take your own advice!" Brianna moved her hands in the air to emphasize her point. "We were in love, I guarantee your parents would have accepted it because it made you happy, it's who you were, it's maybe even who you are… Was I not worth it? Not worth the risk at all?"

"Brianna…" Dani looked at the crying woman. "It's not like that, it was me being selfish… I wasn't thinking about you and your feelings at the time. I didn't realize the break up would impact your life so badly."

Bri scoffed. "What? You thought you would wreck me with that break up and I'd go about living life all fine and dandy? Reality check Daniela, I was head over heels in love with you and you ripped my heart out, that day, that night, two weeks ago, my heart will skip a beat if I see anything that remotely reminds me of you… I had to send my furs back to Russia to be cleaned because your smell was on them when I got home, almost two years and the fortress still had signs of you every where."

"I get it! I was wrecked too, when you broke, I broke too!" Daniela looked at Bri and closed her eyes. "It's not an easy love to get over, I'll always love you Bri, don't ever think I stopped loving you but I just needed to move on, move past us. Plus, you know what it's like to have your parent make you do something you don't necessarily want to do… Your dad made you marry that man, mine wanted me to marry Antonio, it took me awhile to love him but I do love him even if my dad forced it a little bit."

Bri laughed before covering her mouth. "I had an arranged marriage, it was set up like that from the jump… My dad didn't dangle the man in front of me before hand, I met him two months before the wedding… He was older, that was a business transaction… You cheated on me with Antonio way before marriage was brought up!"

"I didn't cheat! I had a dinner with him!" Daniela balled her hands into fists. "I did what I did to make my dad proud and happy…"

Jacey stepped forward, grabbing a hold of Bri. "This needs to stop... The wedding is already done. Bri didn't come here to win you back and from the looks of it, all you're doing is fighting over the past and comparing each other's marriages... This is rather ridiculous if you ask me..."

"J is right... If you're not trying to mend fences between each other and have type of friendly friendship then what's all this for?" Esai growled as he propped himself up against the door. "Your new husband is probably looking for you anyway, D."

"I just came because I'm Jacey's plus one." Bri shook her head and looked at Daniela. "Yeah, I wanted to see if you were happy, getting married… I didn't came here to have some kind of friendship with Dani, how the hell am I supposed to be friend's with her if she can't even claim her true self."

Jacey nodded her head. "Why don't we go then? I don't want you to feel like you have to stay with me, we can go see my brother or something, maybe pick up Monica and go out!" The blonde smiled, offering up ideas to console her best friend.

"Esai, Jacey, can you just give us a minute alone? Please..." Daniela furrowed her brow at the pair, hoping they'd give her what she was asking for.

"I'll be fine Jacey, if you hear someone scream, then come running in." Bri smirked at the gorgeous blonde.

Jacey nodded her head, allowing Esai to lead her out of the room. Bri stared at the curly haired brunette briefly before looking away. "Brianna... I'm sorry for everything."

"Alright." Bri just looked at the woman, trying her best to rein in her emotions.

Daniela covered her face with her hands. "I loved you so much, and I still do but I'm married now."

"I don't know what you want me to say to that Daniela, is that supposed to make me feel better or some shit? To know that you love me but you rather be married to some man?" Bri crossed her arms and shook her head as she willed her tears not to fall anymore.

The bride shook her head. "I told you... That's my dad's doing. So I'm going to make him happy the best I can. I'm almost positive he's still upset about your revelations at the Fourth of July party, Bri."

Bri shrugged. "I'm sorry about that but it felt good to get it off my chest, even if it was the wrong setting."

"You were drunk, Brianna! He thought you were just drunk and being crazy until he plastered Esai about it... He had Javy put E in the ring for it!" Daniela shook her head. "What were you thinking!?"

"I obviously wasn't thinking, I just spilled the beans. I'm sorry I did that, I'm more sorry that E got in trouble for it." Bri tilted her head to look at Daniela. "You thought he would go the rest of his life without knowing his daughter dated a woman?"

Daniela shook her head, trying to hide her emotions. "I knew it would come out eventually but I wasn't expecting it to come straight from your mouth. You knew how much that talk meant to me... I wanted to tell him myself. Without E or anyone else getting hurt... He could've gotten really dramatic about it and hunt down Jacey for answers."

"If it meant so much for you, you would have had it awhile ago Daniela...I don't know what the fuck happened to you, you used to be driven, you just stopped showing up to class. Why? We were supposed to do the doctor thing together." Bri blinked at her as she wiped her face dry. "If he would have went anywhere near Jacey, he would have gotten hurt, you know how protective I am over her…"

Daniela shook her head. "It's not that simple, Bri... It never has been. You know that." She looked away to wipe her own tears away. "Antonio said I didn't have to do all that anymore... He didn't ever want to let me work again. So the whole doctor thing got put on hold." She rolled her eyes. "You know E loves her and wouldn't let anything to her. Not even to mention that damn madman of a boyfriend she has now..."

"I just thought you and I being together was the end game Dani." Bri looked at her nails and shook her head. "I just wanted to be with you… I guess I was stupid to think that given the whole situation with you. I just kept holding on to the hope that Aleksandr was wrong about you Daniela. I wanted him to be wrong about you soooo fucking much." She looked up briefly and shrugged her shoulders. "Happy is a cool guy, he fucking loves Jacey so much… I could use a love like theirs in my life."

Daniela laughed, shaking her head. "I don't doubt that but the real inspiration of love was her and E... I swore they'd be together forever and ever. Their love was something people dreamt about." Her smile faded and she shrugged, moving closer to Bri. "You were the end game, Bri... You and me for life. It was all I ever wanted. But things clearly changed."

"Yeah things changed, you like dick, you're pregnant and now you're married." Bri moved back away from Daniela. "I think Happy and Jacey have a love that's better than what she had with Esai… I think I should go now… This conversation did nothing but put me in feelings and makes me want to drown in a vat of vodka."

Daniela stopped Bri from leaving with a hand to her hip. "What would you do differently if you had the chance?"

"Not fall in love with a woman who can't even publicly claim me…" Bri glared at Daniela. "You're not going to win me over like old times D, it's going to take a whole lot more than your hand on my hip to get me to melt this time."

The bride moved closer to the beautiful brunette, all common sense flying out the window, all judgement going with it. "Are you sure, Bri?" She inched closer to Bri.

"Yes, I'm sure." Bri stepped back from her ex and shook her head. "You're married and as much as I would love to kiss you for old times sake, I just can't because that would make me a cheater like you were and like Juan was… I can't do that shit Daniela… This whole reunion is coming way too late… I'm sorry."

Daniela looked down, hiding her eyes from the brunette. "Who's fault is that? You're the one who left the damn town, state, fucking time zone! You didn't give me the damn chance to reverse my mistake!" The curly haired brunette moved toward the beautiful Russian, trapping her between herself and the wall. "You just ran... Leaving everything behind."

"There wasn't anyone here for me, sorry for not sticking around and letting you flaunt your new relationship in my face! You don't think I had someone keep tabs on you for the first few weeks I was gone?" Bri sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I left everything behind because there was nothing here for me anymore, the woman I loved didn't love me the same amount, my best friend was so caught up in her shit with Esai… I was just alone so I up and left, no one even tracked me down… Jacey didn't even realize I was gone until two weeks had passed."

The curly haired beauty bowed her head... "I came back... Several times. I begged Esai to tell me something but he wouldn't say a thing. Just that you were on a vacation." Their eyes connected again, tears were streaming down Daniela's face. "I missed you, I miss you now... Bri, believe that. I want nothing more than you to be back here with me. I'm sorry..."

"I miss you too but I don't think I can get involved with you Daniela, you're married and ready to pop out a kid any moment now." Bri pointed at the woman's stomach. "Plus, I'm trying to work out my own problems… I just wish you were neither married or pregnant, I'd pick you over Juan any day…"

Daniela backed away, stunned... "You're back with him? How? What the fuck, Bri? Why are you back with him?" Anger was swallowing her now, anger and jealousy. "What do you want me to do, Bri?"

"I went to a Sons party with Jacey and it turned out that he's a Son now… Go figure right? When I come back to town I run into my ex boyfriend. We're not together just yet, we went on one date and have been talking… It's good so far but I don't expect much out of it." Bri shrugged her shoulders and smirked. "Do whatever it is your dad wants you to D… I can't make you do a damn thing. It's up to you to figure out how you want to go about things but I don't think you're going to be happy being a stay at home mom and old lady… You always wanted so much more for yourself, what was it? Doctors without borders, helping kids all over the world."

"I don't like that... Don't ask me why just know my feelings over that entire ordeal." Daniela sighed, looking away from the brunette who was still pinned against the wall. "I want you..."

Bri gently grabbed the brunette's chin and turned her face back to hers. "I want you too but I don't think we need each other right now...Back to your question earlier, if I could have changed anything, I wouldn't have ran off to Sweden, I would have stayed behind… Maybe just maybe you would have changed your mind about things."

"Pero lo que sí necesita usted... Usted no entiende cuánto." The tears rolling down Daniela's face just wouldn't cease at this point, the bride was drowning in her emotions now. She shook her head before moving closer and resting her head on the brunette's shoulder. (But I do need you... You don't understand how much.)

Bri hugged the woman, kissing her head. "You know, I hate it when you speak Spanish… It does things to me." She laughed briefly. "I think you should get your face cleaned up and get back out there, it's your wedding and you have to socialize with your guests."

"Good... Maybe it'll convince you that I'm an idiot and I need you back so much..." The bride shook her head, wrapping her arms around the gray eyed Russian.

"Daniela, you should go… I don't want anyone coming in here and finding us like this." Bri sighed and moved from the woman's embrace. "You know where I live, if you need to talk or vent, you know where to find me. Plus, it's summer and I know how much you love that damn pool and Moni is in town… You remember her right?"

The brunette shook her head again, pulling Bri back to her. "Fuck them people. It's my dressing room. I can stay in here as long as I want. It is my wedding after all." She buried her face in Bri's neck, trying so hard not to make any more compromising moves. "Don't give me permission to come over, I'll never leave. Yes I remember her... Loved her. The crazy little thing."

Bri frowned. "Aleksandr would make you leave if you stayed too long… You can come over if you ever need to… She's gorgeous, smart as all hell, she'll take over the world if I left her alone long enough." She once again moved away from the brunette as she heard talking outside of the room. "I really need to leave Daniela… I don't want to cause any problems, especially today."

"It's no one, Brianna, hush and relax. It honestly sounds like Jacey. She's probably freaking out, worried about us." Daniela moved back to Bri. "Would you please stop moving away from me? You know how much I hated when you used to do it!"

Bri nodded and let the brunette wrap her arms around her the best she could. "Your kid isn't going to kick me is it?" She smiled.

"He seems to like you so far... He's a momma's boy, it's official." Daniela laughed, burying her face back in Bri's neck, softly kissing her.

Bri sighed and closed her eyes. "Yeah, this isn't a smart idea D."

"You want me to stop?" The bride asked, slowly pulling away from the brunette.

"No but I don't want to be the reason your marriage falls apart on the first day or the other woman… Call me old fashioned if you will." Bri tugged on the front of her own dress and looked at the gorgeous woman. "I think you're going to need to annul the wedding if you plan on kissing me or whatever."

Daniela laughed, moving back to the brunette. "What would you do if Jacey and E walked in on us right now?"

"Probably die with embarrassment and run away from Jacey, she'd kick my ass for this whole situation." Bri shook her head and glanced at the door.

The bride laughed, nodding her head. "You and me both... But tell me, does it look like she put on some weight to you?"

"She's been eating a lot more, yeah." Bri shrugged. "I think I've been giving her my poor eating habits, I'm ten pounds heavier than I should actually be."

Daniela narrowed her brown eyes at the Russian, knowing it was all bullshit. "E doesn't know, does he?"

"No, he doesn't know." Bri shook her head. "None of us are going to tell him either… If Jacey wants him to know, she'll tell him."

Daniela shook her head, her hand covering her face. "He's gonna die, Bri, this is gonna kill him."

"Imagine how she felt during his shit… Wouldn't you have died if Antonio got someone who wasn't you knocked up?" Bri fiddled with her bracelet and frowned.

Dani shook her head again, frowning. "He didn't knock her up though... He didn't even cheat. J is everything to him, or was everything to him. He nearly died when he found out she was screwin' the grumpy madman."

"I guess he should have fought a little harder to win Jacey back.. There's nothing he can really do now… She's happy, she's in love. He's what she needs and she's what he needs… I love them together, even if Happy and I buttheads sometimes." She smiled at Dani. "Dani, E just needs to do his best to move on because if he loves her like he claims he'll want nothing more to see her happy."

"They would never fight, they were perfection, Bri. From what I've heard, the madman is quite the hellraiser and he butts heads with J all the time." Daniela shrugged, rolling her eyes. "She and E belong together... Everyone knows it."

"Jacey is quite a hellraiser herself… Couples fight, it's a healthy dynamic. I love them together, J and Hap are so in love… I came back from Sweden because she was so torn up about her and Hap's break up… I don't remember getting a call from her about losing Esai forever." Bri blinked at Dani and shrugged. "I don't know why we're talking about them… If you want answers about her relationship ask her. She's your friend after all."

Dani shook her head. "That's because she was mad at you... She was with me though. Antonio was trying to make her laugh but threatening E's life... Can't say there is a reason. I just figured you'd have answers."

"Why was she mad at me? I called her a dozen times when you dumped me and never received a damn reply… I left to keep my sanity but actually lost more of it… I think I may have expanded my drinking problem." Bri shrugged. "I think you can do so much better than Antonio, he asked for my number and I gave it to him at the party, we even danced together… I'm sorry."

Daniela shook her head. "You don't remember this because you're selfish but she dropped in her phone in the damn pacific way before we even broke up and she didn't care to get a new phone because she liked being disconnected to her family." The brunette rolled her eyes making Dani laugh. "I knew he was hitting on you! That bastard!"

"I'm selfish?" Bri distanced herself from the woman. "Yeah, I'm selfish, alright." She shook her head and crossed her arms. "I'm leaving now." She moved towards the door and opened it quickly and stepped out of the room, her eyes scanning the space.

Daniela shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Just like old times..." She mumbled to herself.

Bri stuck her head back into the room. "You wanna say that louder? Huh?"

"Just. Like. Old. Times." Dani spoke slowly, her voice a little louder. "You get mad over nothing, walk out and then I have to bust my ass making it up to you." The curly haired vixen rolled her brown eyes. "Such a damn little know it all priss... And it drives me insane."

"I'm mad because you called me selfish. I don't think of myself as selfish." Bri hissed at her. "You don't have to make anything up to me! We're not a couple!"

"You could barely finish that sentence! You want us back together so bad, B... It's written all over your face, babe." The curly haired beauty rolled her eyes.

"It doesn't matter about what I want..." Bri shook her head as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "We should get out of here, I want cake."

Daniela rolled her eyes again, smirking. "Bet you do." She started to walk toward to the door to leave.

"You won't even know I'm around." Bri followed a few behind Dani, watching her disappear into the reception while she walked outside to meet Aleksandr.

**July 28, 2008**

Bri padded through her house, her hair piled on top of her head in a sloppy bun. She had recovered mostly from the horrid day she had two days prior at her ex girlfriend's wedding. It had done nothing more than unearth feelings that she wanted to keep buried. She let out a sigh and sat down on the sofa, her dog Monster curling up next to her as she grabbed a magazine from the coffee table and started to flip through it. "I wish I could go shopping… I could use a new purse, hell I could use a new fucking car... " She paused at the ad in the magazine. "Yes, definitely a new car." She rubbed the dog's ears as she heard the doorbell chime.

Monster bounded off the sofa and started for the dark, the animal's loud barks echoing through the foyer as its owner walked past it, briefly looking through the peephole before pulling the heavy door open. "Babe!" She hugged the man standing before her, the smile fading off her face as he didn't hug her back. "What's wrong Juice?"

Juice walked into the foyer, his brown eyes dark as he looked at Bri. "You lied to me Brianna." He growled at her, causing the woman to recoil even further away from her.

"About what?" She crossed her arms, her voice laced with venom as she tried to figure out what she could have lied to him about. "Huh?"

He turned his back to her, his hands in fists at his sides. "I saw you with him Bri… Don't play fucking dumb right now." He whipped around, closing the space between them as he backed her against the door. "I saw you, in the mall with the guy and Monica."

Bri scoffed and pushed him away from her. "Dr. Banks? You think I am dating my boss? The guy who took me under his wing as his resident?" She shook her head. "Lucius is my boss, there's nothing going on between us, if there was I would have told you."

Juice's face fell. "What?" He looked at her. "That was your boss?" He ran his hands over his head and frowned. "I thought you were fucking around on me…"

She cocked her head to the side, not wanting to hear what else he had to say. "Please, tell me you didn't do something stupid while you were away…"

He dropped his gaze to the floor. "I just assumed…"

Bri opened the door. "Leave now…" She pointed towards the outside. "If you don't fucking leave right now, I'll have to have Aleksandr come and remove you." She closed her eyes as she felt him brush past her, with one swift movement she slammed the door and sank to the floor, her face buried in her hands. "Asshole." She muttered, feeling the past starting to creep back in.

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**Yes, I know this chapter was long and filled with dialogue but it gives you a good glimpse into why Bri prefers just to have mutual benefit type relationships over the whole seriously dating type relationships. **


	14. Chapter 14 Russia

**July 29, 2008 - Charming**

Juice clutched the bottle of jack daniels as he stumbled out of his bedroom, he had been drinking himself stupid ever since he left Bri's house. The look on her face as their conversation had taken a drastic turn, he didn't even get to tell her what had actually happened. He had been on the brink of sleeping with the sweetbutt but had stopped, the look on Bri's face from their last break up plaguing his thoughts. Now it was all he could think about, the last fight, the end of their volatile relationship, the moment that sent him fleeing from Queens after graduation.

_Juan walked the familiar staircase, his heart in his throat as he tried to staunch the sweat from beading on his palms. He had fucked up again and this time he wasn't even sure he could fix it, or talk himself out of it. He was going to have to face Brianna and deal with the consequences head on. "Brianna." He knocked on the partially open bedroom door before walking inside. _

_"Go away." Brianna shook her head, not bothering to turn around and face her ex boyfriend. "I don't want to talk to you, let alone be in the same goddamn room!" She hit her bed and sniffed loudly, not caring that she was crying in front of him. He had betrayed her in the worst way. _

_"Come on babe." He walked over towards her. "Can't we just talk? We worked through this type of shit so many times." He reached out to rub her back only to have his arm pushed away. _

_"This is different!" She shrieked and finally looked at him. Her eyes rimmed with read and her skin sullen and grey. "You got another girl pregnant Juan! You are going to be a father and it's not my child!" She stood up and shoved the man backwards. "Do you know how shitty I feel right now!?" _

_"I fucked up!" He ran a hand over his freshly shorn hair. "I don't know why you can't just forgive me! It doesn't change the fact that you're the one I'm in love with Brianna... I want to be with you and only you!" _

_Brianna scoffed. "I can't even believe a fucking word that comes from your mouth. It's been four years of continuous lies from you! Have you ever been honest with me? Were all the 'I love yous' lies? What was the point of you dating me if you didn't have any fucking intention of being faithful!?" _

_"I meant it every time I said it!" He glared at her. "Yeah, okay, I fucked up so many damn times but I don't want to lose you! You're the only person who hasn't turned their back on me Brianna!" He moved forward in an attempt to grab her hands but she landed a hard smack on his face that brought tears to his eyes. _

_"Don't you ever touch me again." She pointed at him. "I'm fucking heartbroken! You did this, all of this." She gestured between them. "This is all your fault and you expect me to take pity on you because you have no one else to run to!? Go run to your little bed buddies! Oh what? They were only around for the sex and don't care about what you're going through?" She laughed and shook her head. _

_The broken young man took a step away from the woman. "Listen to me! I don't want anyone else, you're the only one I have left. The only one who's loved me through everything." He sniffed and wiped at his own tears as he watched the love of his life collapse to the floor in a sobbing mess. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry about all of this shit!"_

_"Nothing you say means shit to me anymore! You're only here because I'm the only person you have left! Guess what? You have no one anymore! I'm so finished with you! Go play house with your whore Juan Carlos." She didn't peel her eyes away from the white carpet underneath her. All she could hear was the thump of her heartbeat in her ears. "I don't want to talk to you! See you! Hear from you! Be near you ever again!"_

_"Don't do this!" Juan clenched his fists and looked at the woman on the floor. "Just say we can work this shit out! Just say you're mine and I'm yours. Come on babe, just say it like you've said it before!" He backed into the corner of her room and crouched down, his face buried in his hands as he started to cry again. "Please?" He choked out as her sobs started to drown out his own. _

_Brianna looked up and wiped her face on her shirt. Her eyes on Juan as he sobbed freely. "No." She shook her head, a calmness rushing over her as she stilled her hands from shaking. "Get the fuck out of my room! Get the fuck out of my house! Get the fuck out of my life Juan Carlos! Go find someone else to walk all over! I'm finished with giving you all these chances! I was obviously not enough to keep you from straying so just get the fuck out!" _

_He stood slowly, his mouth opening to speak but his words abandoning him as he watched with fear at the empty stare on Brianna's face. Her eyes dark and empty as she stared straight ahead. He nodded and left the room. When the door was closed he slid down against it. Resting his head in his hands as he started to hear the breaking of items on the other side. He had done it, he had lost the last piece of normalcy and love in his life. There was officially nothing keeping him in Queens after he graduated. _

He sent the empty bottle soaring across the room, watching it smash against the wall as he tried to shake off the memory, a memory that had haunted him for years after the break up and was now haunting him again. He would never forgive himself for that day, he had fucked up and now he wouldn't blame Bri if she didn't want to give another chance because if he was in her position he'd assume the worst too.

**July 30, 2008 - Oakland**

Brianna kicked at the hands grabbing at her ankles, all she wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep away her shitty luck. It had been nearly two days since she realized Juice had once again fucked her over. "Leave me alone!" She peered through her eyelids and groaned as she realized she would never be able to fend off the giant of a man. "Please, just leave me alone…"

Aleksandr easily hefted the brunette over his shoulder, moving out of her room and down the stairs quickly. "It's time for a wake up call Katarzyna." He opened the doors to the backyard and smirked as he effortlessly tossed Bri into the cold pool water.

"Jesus!" The brunette smacked the water and looked at him. "What the actual fuck was that? I didn't need to go for a swim nor did I want to get wet!" She walked out of the pool, yanking the towel from the laughing man.

"Now that you're sober, I have some serious shit to talk with you about Kat…" He sat her down on the wicker loveseat. "I think you're drinking is getting to be too much… I've been looking into rehab centers, found a really good one in Santa Barbara, I know this is the last thing you want to hear but I think you need it and if you don't admit yourself into the center, I'll be forced to send you there involuntarily, I don't think that would look too good on your record."

Bri sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll look at the facility… Book me a flight Aleksandr, I'll of course have to tell Jacey so she won't freak out if I disappear for a month or two." She ran her fingers through her wet hair as she stared at the man. "I'm just so tired of being broken, nothing I do makes me feel whole… When will I be myself again?"

He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "You'll be whole again, you just have to forgive and move on… You will never be repaired if you continue to hold on to the broken pieces my dear." He frowned. "You especially can't depend on a bottle of vodka to fix you either, it usually makes things worse… This will be your fourth time in rehab?"

"Yeah, number four." She wiped the tears off her cheeks. "I never should have come back here Aleksandr, I just wanted shit to work out between Juice and I so, so, so badly… Stupid ass bitch is what I am."

"Cheer up, I have a surprise for you… Get dressed then meet me in the kitchen." Aleksandr pressed a kiss to her forehead once more. "The gift will help you get through this shit, I promise you that much."

Bri nodded and stood up, following the large man into the house, she took the steps two at a time, eager to dress and get to the kitchen for her surprise. One she hoped would indeed get her mind off the mess at hand. She walked into her closet, stripping out of the wet clothes and letting them drop to the floor in a wet puddle as she pulled a pair of joggers and a crop top from their hangers. She quickly pulled the dry clothes on and tied her damp hair into a side ponytail before shoving her feet into her black Nikes. She glanced at herself in the mirror before leaving her bedroom, descending the stairs slowly, she turned and walked into the kitchen to find Aleksandr talking to a brunette. "I'm here…" She announced, watching the brunette turn around slowly. "OMG!"

"Kitty Kat!" The brunette moved forward, enveloping Bri into a tight hug. "Cali looks good on you bitch!" She held Bri at arms length and examined her.

"Svetlana!" Bri smiled at her best friend. "What the fuck are you doing here?" She pulled the brunette back into a hug and kissed her cheek.

Svetlana laughed. "I'm here because Aleksandr summoned me!" She pulled Bri towards the kitchen table. "He said you needed some Russian in your life!"

The brunette smiled at Aleksandr who was leaving the kitchen. "He was right! Fuck! I missed you so much, I didn't know how much I did until I was looking at your mug!" She sighed and grabbed the girl's hands. "What's new with you? Still messing with that Italian kid?"

"No! No more Italian men for me…" Svetlana shook her head. "I'm not here to talk about myself, I'm here to listen to my best fucking friend complain to me about all the shit she's going through… I know how much you love to complain about shit."

"Dont even get me started." Bri waved her hand in the hair and sighed. "Remember I was telling you about Juan and Daniela? Well I went to Daniela's wedding and it was shit, so many unresolved feelings between the two of us but get this she's fucking pregnant! Then I told you how I was working on shit with Juan but I think he may have already fucked up or almost fucked up… He assumed I was dating my boss… I just kicked him out before we actually talked about the trip he took, I'm just not mentally prepared for what he could tell me… I don't think I could actually fucking handle hearing him say he fucked another woman, so that's my worst fear right now."

The brunette frowned. "Ew, I don't even know what to say about Daniela other than fuck that bitch… She doesn't even deserve your time or energy, she fucked you over…" She shook her head as she tapped on the table. "As for Juan, you're going to have to hear him out, you can't assume he stuck his dick into some other woman… He could have thought about it but not have done the deed…"

"I know Lana but I don't know… Like isn't almost doing it just as bad as the act itself… I'm so over not being enough for that man." Bri sighed as she braided her ponytail. "I'm missing out on so much shit because I can't bring myself to trust anyone with my heart or whatever… All I can manage is to fuck around."

"Yeah but meaningless relationships aren't going to help you… They're fun and everything but you're not getting any younger babe." Lana shrugged her shoulders as she began to trace the tattoos on her best friend's arm with her long nails. "If you love Juan, you'll find a way to forgive him and then you'll lay out ground rules, this is what I'll deal with, this isn't what I'll deal with. If he can't agree then move the fuck on...Shit, I'll marry you and be your housewife if I can live in this fucking house."

"It's not a house, it's a mansion." Bri smirked. "Get your shit flown over, you can totally move in and it can be like Sweden… Nonstop fun and spending money as fast as we earned it, although I'll have to be working more over here... You're right though, I'll reach out and talk to him, set the rules and hope he's down to follow them."

"I'm so moving in then… Do I get my own room?" Svetlana smiled at the woman. "If all fails, I'll show up and pretend to be you, I can fake your accent pretty damn well."

Bri nodded. "Of course you do." She stood up and held out her hand. "I'll show you the white room, I think you'll love it so much… Did you see Monica? She's a fucking stunner these days man. I love her more and more with her crazy ass… I don't need you to pretend to be me, I think we got in enough shit for that in Russia."

Lana let Bri lead her up the stairs and past a few colored doors before opening a white door. "You color coded your rooms weirdo?"

"I painted the doors to make it easier when guests come over, the blue doors are bathrooms, the black door is my bedroom, the grey one is my office, the pink one is Monica's room, the two polka dot doors are the guest rooms, this is the white room… I had decorated it and wanted it to be a meditation room but never used it." She walked them into the room, turning on the lights. "You're welcome to move into this room, I tried to get Jacey to stay in here but I don't think she liked it all too much…"

"I fucking love it! So much white fur!" Svetlana dropped Bri's hand and moved to the bed, her hand rubbing over the fur covering the lower half of the giant bed. "I am never leaving this place… No wonder why you never have to come home to Russia, you made yourself your own little Russian world." She wrapped herself in the blanket and laughed. "I'll call Alexei and have him send all my important shit here… I cannot believe we're going to be roommates again Kitty Kat!"

"Oh yeah, everyone tends to call me Bri or Brianna out here, only a select few call me Kat or Katarzyna." Bri smiled at her friend. "Oh, you're going to need to meet Jacey! Finally both of my best friends are in the same city! I'm so happy." She jumped on her friend, sending them both falling into the floor in a laughing fit. "I'll talk to Juan tomorrow, don't let me forget."

"I won't." Lana pressed a quick kiss to her friend's lips. "I so am excited to meet Juan and to meet Jacey, I hope they both like me."

"I think they'll both like you sweetheart." Bri laughed and rolled off her best friend and onto her back. "Jacey is so cool… I see her as my sister like I do you."

"Then we should have some fun times." The brunette smiled at her friend. "I'm in need of an amazing shopping trip, you want to show me around the best spots? We can take Monica, make it a girls day, invite Jacey…"

Brianna nodded. "I'll invite Jacey, I think it'd be fun as fuck." She pulled her phone out, sending two texts, one to Juice about meeting and the other to Jacey about going shopping. "I'm so glad you're here, I love when friendly Russians come to town." She laced her fingers through Lana's and smiled, some of the weight of her stress floating away now that her other best friend was in town.

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**Let me know what you thought of that chapter? (:**


	15. Chapter 15 Working On It

**July 31, 2008**

Juice sat at the metal cafe table, his brown eyes scanning customers as they came and went. He had eagerly agreed to meet with Brianna, he hadn't expected her to reach out and when she had, he jumped at the opportunity to explain himself to her. He looked at the smoothie in front of him, he ordered it as soon as he seen it on the menu; mango papaya with pineapple, three of Bri's favorite flavors mixed together. His eyes finally landed on a familiar face and he waved, grabbing the brunette's attention.

"Hey." Bri shrugged out of her lab coat and draped it over the back of her chair before sitting down and smiling at Juice. "Thanks for coming, sorry I'm almost late, I had to go into the office before this, hadn't expected to…"

"I ordered you a smoothie." He smiled and pushed it towards her. "Your favorite tropical flavors all mixed together." He watched her take a sip and smile.

"That's really good." She set the smoothie back down. "Straight to it, did you or did you not?" She crossed her arms and cocked a brow at the man.

Juice shook his head. "I had her in the room with me and then all I could see was your face when we broke up the last time, so I stopped it… I know that isn't the best situation but I didn't fuck the sweetbutt Bri, you have to believe me when I tell you that."

She nodded. "I believe you…"

He let his shoulders sag with relief. "I feel bad about it… I should have cleared it up with you right then and there but you snapped like you did that night and you just wanted me gone so I left and regretted it as soon as I was pulling away on my bike… I even turned around, walked back up to the front door and was going to knock and tell you everything."

Bri sipped on her smoothie and stared at Juice. "I shouldn't have overreacted with the whole situation… I should have been more adult about it and let you explain yourself instead of jumpin' to a conclusion and kicking your ass out but in the moment I just saw the past flash in front of my eyes."

Juice grabbed her hands. "I'm sorry I brought that all rushing back to you Brianna… I just hope we can move forward with working on us."

"Yeah… That's why I'm here, I need to set some ground rules and everything… If you don't like them, then we can just go our separate ways right now and save us both time and energy." She rubbed his knuckles with her thumbs and smiled. "No cheating or lying… I don't care about run rules, road rules, whatever the fuck you men have in the club… You want pussy outside of our relationship, then we have no business being together… I don't care if the other men and their women agree on run rules, I'm not those women and don't give a fuck about what dumbass rule some man made to make himself feel better about cheating."

"I'm fine with that." The handsome man smiled. "So, it's honesty all the time between us? I should be completely honest with you right now…"

Bri frowned and pulled her hands away from his. "What happened?"

Juice let out a sigh. "I sort of hooked up with Jacey but it was before you and I found each other again and stuff…"

She looked at him and tilted her head to the side. "You had sex? With Jacey?"

"Yes…" He hung his head in shame. "It was sort of the act that started their break up…"

"Oh." Bri rubbed her brows and sighed. "Alright, I don't think I needed or wanted to know that little fact but thanks for being honest with me… I think you already know who I slept with." She shrugged her shoulders as she finger combed the ends of her curly hair.

"Kozik and Jax…" He shook his head. "Had to be those two?"

"I have a thing for blonde hair and blonde eyed bikers…" She chuckled. "Jax and I are friends and Kozik and I are still on the outs but it's whatever."

"A thing?" He laughed. "What am I then?"

"Love, dumbass…" Bri leaned over and kissed his lips. "You're my preference but the other two will do when I'm single or if I'm ever single again… Anyways, I have to tell you some serious shit… Daniela and I talked, there are some big what ifs between her and I but she's newly married and pregnant, so I don't think you have too much to worry about in that area… I'm focused on you and I working on shit and building a strong foundation for a successful relationship. I know it won't be perfect and we'll have issues but I hope we can work through each and everyone."

Juice smiled as he leaned over the table and kissed Bri. "I'm willing to work through anything and everything if you're just as willing." He grabbed her hands and kissed each one. "I love your ink babe…" He scanned her left arm and smiled.

"I am willing." She smirked. "I want to add to the ink… Thinking a snake or something, maybe even see if I can get that awful skull and snake on my back covered with something better."

"Talk to Hap, he's the resident tattoo artist around the club… He'd set aside any differences he has with you for the sake of art." He nodded. "Are we good here?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "We're good here… You up to hanging out at my place?" She stood up and shrugged her coat back on buttoning the middle button.

"Yeah." Juice draped an arm over her shoulders and smiled as they walked through the small establishment, earning curious looks from other patrons. "I could go for a nice swim."

**SOA**

"Bri!" Monica launched herself at the woman as soon as she walked into the door. "I missed you!" She kissed Bri's nose.

Bri smiled and spun the girl around. "I missed you too munchkin… How was dance class?" She set the six year old down and quickly tossed away her lab coat as Juice walked into the house. "Did you learn anything cool?"

"I wore a black tutu and all the other girls wore pink ones! That was so cool." Monica smiled up at Bri. "Then, I learned how to turn." She did her best to turn on the carpeted floor of the living room. "I do it better in class."

"That was good!" Bri kicked off her shoes and tried to spin. "I'm not sure if I can do it better than that my love."

"You have to come to class with me then!" The tiny brunette covered her mouth as she giggled. "All the other moms do."

The woman nodded. "I'll be at your next class then my dear." She picked Monica up and hugged her tightly once more. "You want to come swimming with me and Juice?"

"Of course! Lana is already in the pool, she's so fun!" Monica slid down Bri and ran towards the stairs. "I'm going to put on my swimsuit!"

"Me too!" Bri smiled and looked at Juice. "You can head to the backyard if you want to or you can come up with me and we can go out back together."

Juice followed Bri up the stairs and into her room, closing and locking the door behind them as he quickly pulled her into a hug, his lips placing kisses to her neck as he backed them up towards the bed. "God, you're so damn perfect."

"Thanks." Bri laughed as she started to unbutton her blouse. "You gonna let me get undressed or are we gonna make out like teenagers?"

He smirked and unzipped her skirt, pulling it down her body. "I'll help you get undressed…" He watched her step out of the skirt that was puddled at her feet. "I love the sound of that plan better."

"No, nooo." She shook her head as she felt him unfasten her bra. "We're not fooling around right now Juan Carlos… We're going to go outside and swim and then maybe later tonight we can fool around." She moved away from him and to her closet, she reached in and grabbed her white bikini that was hanging up. "Are you just gonna watch me change or will you change into your trunks as well?"

"I'll watch you then I'll change." He watched her every movement as she changed out of her bra and panties and into a white bikini that left nothing to the imagination. "You don't wear that on public beaches right?"

Bri looked down at her body. "I have worn this on public beaches…" She turned around giving him a view of the back. "It makes my ass look fucking amazing don't ya think babe?"

Juice moved forward and grabbed her hips. "Yeah it does but it doesn't cover much of it." He ran his hands over her ass and smiled. "I'm going to have to buy you a cover up or something if we go back to the beach and you want to wear this thing." He pressed a kiss to her shoulder blades before turning her around. "Give me a minute and I'll be in my trunks."

The brunette nodded and tied her hair into a bun on top of her head. "I have a friend from Russia who's here, her name is Svetlana… She's cool but has no true filter on her mouth at times. I just thought I should warn you before you go outside and see this brunette swimming."

He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Thanks for the heads up… Now let's go." He walked them down stairs and through the open french doors. He dropped her hand when they reached the edge of the pool.

"Oh!" Svetlana smiled up at him. "You're right Kitty Kat, he's handsome as all hell… I'm Sventlana!" She held her hand out and he shook it.

"Juice." He sat on the edge of the pool, submerging only the bottom half of his legs. "The water feels nice."

"Heated pool." Bri shrugged before she jumped into the pool, splashing Monica, Lana, and Juice. "Always the perfect temperature."

"I assume you guys had a successful talk." Svetlana flipped onto her back and started to float around the pool, her eyes closed as the warmth of the sun relaxed her even further. "

"We did." Juice nodded. "How long have you two known each other?"

Bri looked to Lana and smiled. "Since before I left to Queens… It's been a lifelong friendship, though we are more apart nowadays we still find a way to keep in contact… When I left after the Dani thing, Svetlana was in Sweden with me."

"Now I'm here in the states, for the third time and I plan to stay here awhile." The brunette floated to her best friend. "Isn't that right Kitty Kat? You and me, wreaking havoc on this city together!"

"Hell yeah." Bri wrapped her arms around Lana, taking her under the water with her before resurfacing. "We're taking over!"

"Me too!" Monica jumped into the water next to the two women. "I wanna take over Oakland too!"

"Right on monkey!" Lana smiled at the six year old. "I think that is a plan, no one would expect you to be taking over the city… It'll be amazing!"

"I'm going to be the Queen of Oakland." Monica doggy paddled her way through the water, Lana following behind her as Bri took a seat next to Juice.

"You're really good with Monica." Juice smiled the wet brunette next to him. "You ever think about having kids of your own?"

Bri shrugged. "Monica is my kid for all intents and purposes but I would love to have two more kids… What about you?"

He shrugged. "I could see myself with at least one kid crazy as it may sound with me being an outlaw and everything."

"Just because you're an outlaw doesn't make you unfit to parent." She twisted the water out of her hair and rested her head on his shoulder. "I mean look at Aleksandr, he's way more dangerous than the Sons put together but he still kicked ass with raising me… I turned out pretty damn good besides the drinking problem."

Juice kissed the young woman's cheek. "Yeah, I guess you make a valid point right there babe… So, when are we gonna start making babies?"

"We're gonna need to be a little more serious than we currently are before we start the making babies talk… The only way we're ending up with a baby this soon is if birth control fails… It hasn't failed me yet." She smiled as she watched Monica and Svetlana play tag in the pool. "I wonder what Jacey is doing right now? I haven't talked to her all day."

"Probably fucking Happy." He chuckled. "You know those two…"

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Bri sighed. "Wanna go inside? I'm pretty sure they're okay out here if we wanna practice making a baby…"

Juice hopped up, pulling Bri up with him gently. "I'm down... " He lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as they walked into the house and upstairs to her bedroom. "This is going to be so much fun!" He walked into her bedroom and dropped her on the big bed. "Let practice begin."


	16. Chapter 16 Slutlana

**August 1, 2008**

Bri, Monica, and Svetlana stood in front of the candy colored cars, their light eyes big and bright as they examined each car front end to back end. "I want that one!" Monica ran to the cherry red Camaro, only to set off its alarm. "It's perfect for me…"

"Monkey." Svetlana grabbed the young girl. "You can't even drive yet, what'll you do with this car babe?"

"I'll have Igor drive me around in it." She leaned into her left hip and smiled up at the brunette. "I have to have it!"

Bri shook her head and rolled her eyes at the sportscar. "It's a nice car but you're ten years away from being able to get your first car… We're here for Svet not for you Moni, so we have to let her pick out what car she wants so her dad can buy it for her."

Svet smiled. "I want that car." She turned and pointed to a black SUV. "I've always wanted a Jeep."

Bri laughed. "Jacey has a black Jeep, I think you need to pick a different color."

"I'll take it in the green color then, I think it's the perfect car for this place." She walked around the Jeep, examining every inch of it before smiling. "Yes, definitely want this one."

"What about that?" Bri pointed to a Range Rover, the last thing she wanted was Svetlana and Jacey having the same vehicle. "It's perfect, flashy, expensive and it's your favorite color!"

"I love it!" She motored past Bri and stood in front of the SUV. "It's gorgeous! I love the color so much, this is definitely coming home with us today." She pulled open the door and climbed in, Monica and Bri following suit.

"This is so pretty." Monica rubbed her hands over the seats and smiled. "I want one of these too for my birthday."

"Already have a list my love?" Bri shook her head and smiled at her best friend. "She's going to cost me an arm and a leg when she's older…"

Svetlana smiled and looked at the Bri look alike. "Does she know or you gonna tell her when she's older?" She started mumbling in Russian before Bri covered her mouth with a hand.

"She speaks Russian dingbat." The brunette frowned and looked back at the little girl. "She's probably figured it out already, I'm just not there yet…"

"Got ya." She nodded. "Let's get this paperwork signed so I can take this thing home right now."

**SOA**

"I cannot believe this shit." Svetlana laughed as she checked her reflection in the dressing room's mirror. "It makes me look fat!" She turned and looked at Bri who was wearing the same exact dress. "I hate you, why do you always look good in anything you try on!?"

Bri shrugged. "I have no fucking clue." She zipped herself out of the dress and tossed it to the maybe pile that Monica was currently sleeping on. "My poor Moni, I thought she'd be able to hang with us, we need to leave soon so I can get her in bed."

The brunette nodded. "I just say we get everything and all else fails we save it and give it to Nik, isn't she due to arrive any day now?"

"Don't even mention that devil! I'm not ready for her to sweep through town and cause drama. I just need peace and quiet while I'm working and handling my own issues… Did I tell you? Aleksandr wants me to go back to rehab because I started drinking so much again because I am weird as hell and can't handle my emotions properly." She pulled her jeans back on and shoved her feet into her sneakers, grabbing one of the new bandeaus, she slipped it on and pulled over a low cut tank top. "I feel like I need to balance my body out and start work on my right arm but then I'd really be looked at weird at work, they're always so shocked when they catch a glimpse of my left arm."

"I'm still shocked that you even became a doctor with all that ink… I always thought you'd go strictly into the arms business like Viktor." Svetlana grabbed the salesgirl as Brianna walked out of the dressing room holding Monica in her arms. "She's got a tube top and tank on…" She ripped the tags off Bri's garments and handed them to the girl.

"My card is in my purse, it's the black card." Bri looked at her friend and smiled. "I'll foot the bill this time, you get it next time."

Svetlana nodded. "Sounds good to me." She put her car away and handed Bri's over. "I cannot wait to get back and just crash."

"Sleepover in my room, Juan isn't coming over tonight so you and Monica can sleep in my room with me…" The taller brunette watched as the girls started walking out of the store with the bags of purchases. "I'm the black Audi… She's the baby blue Rover."

"It's the perfect color car." Lana smiled. "Best purchase I've ever made in the states."

"It's something." Bri finished strapping Monica into her seat. "I need a long ass nap and some pizza, maybe even a massage."

**August 2, 2008**

"Just go up to the door, knock and the guy who answers will assume you're me and yell to Jacey about the Russian being here… Don't try to flirt with him either, J is very protective of her boyfriend and if she hits you, I'll just have to let it happen. He's a sexy man but he's not worth getting your ass beat over because you want to be flirty." Bri slipped the sunglasses on Svetlana's face as they walked up the stairs to Jacey's apartment.

The brunette nodded and smirked at her friend who was standing off to the side of the apartment's door. "Here we go." She knocked on the door before pressing the doorbell. The door opened a few moments later.

Happy looked at the brunette and rolled his eyes. "Jacey, the Russian princess is here!" He stepped aside allowing Svetlana to slip inside before Bri appeared at the open door. "The fuck?" He looked between the two brunettes standing beside him. "Jacey! Get out here right fucking now! There are two of them!"

Jacey came out of her bedroom, her blue eyes looking between the three people in the room. "Um, Bri…"

"Jacey!" Bri hugged the blonde. "This is my best friend Svetlana, Svetlana, this is my best friend Jacey! That's Happy, Jacey's boyfriend and my other best friend…."

"The fuck I am…" Happy rasped at the brunette. "Isn't there a limit of the amount of Russian prisses there can be in the states?"

Svetlana leaned to Bri as she took off the sunglasses. "You were right… It's nice to meet you Jacey." She smiled at the blonde standing in front of her. "I've heard a lot of things about you, all good things, I assure you."

"I've heard nothing about you…" The blonde frowned, her eyes landing on Bri. "What's up Bri? Why'd you bring her?"

"I thought it'd be cool for my two best friends to meet each other." Bri hugged both women. "I have high hopes for this friendship."

Jacey shook her head and moved away from Bri. "You let a stranger knock on my door…"

"I thought it was funny, since I was standing right off to the side." The brunette tossed her hair over her shoulder and frowned at her friend. "I guess it wasn't funny, I should have texted you before I showed up." She grabbed Svetlana's hand.

Svetlana looked at Bri before mumbling to her in Russia. "I think we should go… I don't want to be late for our reservations."

"Yeah… We just wanted to stop by and invite you out for a bite to eat, a new Italian place opened up and we scored a reservation for three." Bri smiled and at Jacey. "Soooo, you wanna tag along with us?"

"Are you two related?" Happy looked between the two brunettes.

Lana shook her head. "Oh God no." She smirked. "I am flattered that you think I'm related to such a beauty though."

"I didn't ask because of that, I asked because you both are annoying me." He shook his head and backed away from the women. "The last thing I ever needed was another fuckin' Russian coming over here."

"Wait until your sister gets to town." Lana looked at Bri and shrugged. "So, Jacey are you coming with us? I'd love to get to know you."

Jacey nodded. "Yeah, I'll go… I have to change first." She started off towards her bedroom, before realizing Bri was right behind her. "Nice to know you have another best friend…"

Bri sighed. "What's with your mood Jacey? I thought you'd be happy to meet Svetlana, she's cool…"

"Up until five minutes ago I didn't even know she existed! I didn't even know you had another best friend B." The blonde whipped her shirt towards the bed as she shuffled through the drawers to find a different top.

"No offense J but it's not like you ask me about my life or what I do when I go back home." The brunette sat on the bed and looked at the blonde. "I don't think it's a big deal for her to be here, she's a better guest than Nik would be."

Jacey glared at Bri. "I ask about stuff." She pulled her shirt over her head and sighed. "I just wish you would have mentioned her to me at least one time."

Bri rolled her eyes. "I did, were you zoning me out when I told you about the first part of the Sweden trip?"

"I think I would remember if you mentioned a person to me Bri." She crossed her arms and turned her back to the brunette. "Maybe it'd be best if I sit this round out, go have Italian food with your stupid best friend Svetlana."

"I'm going to let that slide because obviously you're hormones are out of whack…" Bri stood up from the bed. "All I want is for you and Svet to get along but nope, can't even have the two women I see more as my sisters than my own sisters get along… I'll talk to you later Jacey, maybe…" She left the bedroom, only stopping long enough to grab Svetlana. "Jacey isn't coming anymore, we can go."

"Why not?" Svetlana shrugged out of her grip. "Is she mad because I pretended to be you and knocked on her door? That's somewhat silly don't you think Kitty Kat?"

"I'M NOT MAD AT THAT!" Jacey shouted causing Bri and Svetlana to look towards her. "How do you even know about me huh?"

"I asked if she had any friends over here and she said yes… She told me how you guys met in the coffee shop, that you broke her nose, then you tried to give her a lap dance to avoid paying the bill… I thought that was interesting…" The brunette shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh." The blonde shook her head. "Yeah…"

Bri looked at Jacey. "So, are you going to come with us or not J?"

"No." Jacey crossed her arms and shook her head. "I'm not going with you Bri…"

"Let's go." The brunette grabbed Svetlana and dragged her towards the door. "You know where I live J, stop by when you want to be an adult and actually talk about this whole thing…"

Happy blocked the way, looking at the two brunettes before looking at his girlfriend. "You tried to give the priss a lap dance? After you broke her nose? The fuck Jace? What kind of shit is that? And you two need to stop going back and forth over some bullshit…"

"What bullshit? She started this shit with her crazy ass mood swings... I don't even know what's going on right now! She's too touchy right now." Bri shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jacey sat down on the couch, pulling her legs to her chest. "You're so hell bent on getting the hell out of here, why are you still here, Russia? Why are you still discussing this shit?"

"I just want my sister to come to eat food with my other sister Jacey! Then you flipped a switch like I brought some enemy of yours into your home." The brunette closed her eyes. "It's not too much to ask for."

Jacey shook her head, her eyes trained on her slightly protruding belly. "I stand by my previous questions... Curiosity is just killing the cat, tonight."

Bri sighed. "Why am I even bothering with this right now? I am still here because my best friend is being a hormonal headcase… Do you know what would make you feel better? Hot Italian food with your best friend!"

"Give her a minute, princess... We'll be back." Happy moved away from the door and pulled Jacey to her feet before leading her down the hallway.

Jacey looked at Happy as he closed their bedroom door. "What're you doing Hap?"

"What's going on with you, Jace?" He directed her to sit on their bed.

She took a seat on the edge of the bed and shrugged. "Nothing, Bri just annoyed me…"

"I think that thing..." He pointed to her belly, glaring at it. "... Is making you bat shit crazy."

"Do not blame the baby for anything… I'm pretty sure it was Bri who annoyed me." She sighed. "I have no idea what's fucking wrong with me Hap!"

He shook his head, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "That thing is controlling you... I'm about to call an exorcist or something. You've got me worried, baby..."

"It's just my hormones misfiring… Get used to this, you have a like six months of this shit to deal with." Jacey frowned. "Don't call our baby a thing, you'll hurt her feelings."

The man rolled his eyes. "HE isn't that touchy... Go apologize for his rude ass misfires then."

"I have to apologize to Bri for her annoying me with bringing that Slutlana chick here, no fucking chance Hap." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Bri should apologize to me…"

"Fine, you don't apologize then I'm cutting your needy ass off..." He smirked down at the blonde.

"Okay, okay… No need to be dramatic, I'll apologize to her." She moved from the bed slowly. "I wonder if I can still go eat, I could use some Italian right now."

"Go now, before I change my mind and not let you leave... I'd hate being cut off from you, ya know." He pulled her into his arms.

Jacey smiled. "I don't want to be cut off from you ever… I think I'll ask for a raincheck for the lunch or whatever it is… I'm suddenly craving something entirely different."

"No, go bond or whatever you annoying ass women downed you're together. I got shit to do around here." He smirked, kissing her neck and chest.

"You should come along too… I'm sure Svetlana isn't done eyefucking you just yet." The blonde shook her head. "What could you possibly have to do around here? You've already cleaned the place?"

He laughed, pulling her out of the room. "I might just do that, I'm not sure I'm done eye fucking you, blonde." He pushed her into the living, seeing the two brunettes on his couch, he shook his head. "I'm gonna rearrange the fucking place, don't even argue about it... It's time for something new since we can't find the house you want."

"Jacey can totally move next door to me." Bri looked up at Happy. "We could be neighbors! I'm excited about this!"

"She's this happy and cheery because she's sober…" Svetlana shrugged her shoulders.

Jacey looked at Happy before looking back at Bri. "I want to say I'm sorry for the attitude, the hormones are already turning me into a terror."

"I don't forgive you…" Bri closed her eyes. "I'm kidding, I forgive you… I get the hormones thing but I didn't think you'd be so hormonal already, you're even more feisty than normal."

Jacey felt Happy wrap an arm around her before he kissed her temple. "Go with them, you know you want to... I'll be with Juice looking up some shit for you. Stay out of trouble, I'm not bailing you out of jail, you hear me?"

The brunette looked at the couple. "Speaking of Juice, I heard you fucked him Jacey." She smirked at the blonde.

"He tell you that?" Jacey cocked an eyebrow at her best friend, curious of how the beautiful Russian even found out about that secret.

Bri nodded. "He did indeed tell me after we had a talk about him almost sleeping with some slut on the run… He felt the need to be honest about everything.. Though I could have gone without knowing that fact."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." Jacey shook her head, stepping toward Bri.

She shrugged. "Don't worry about it, like I said, I didn't need to know that fact and now that I do… It's whatever, I'm not mad or anything."

"You sure? I know how much you two went through... Although you could've mentioned a name or something." Jacey shrugged, a hint of a smile on her face.

"I'm sure now if he ever calls me by your name in bed, then you and I will have some problems J!" Bri smiled. "So, are you coming out to eat with us? If you are, you're going to freak out when you see her ride, it's ridiculous."

The blonde shook her head. "I don't think it was that memorable for him to confuse us together. We don't even look alike." She ran a hand over her belly. "Yeah, but I'll take my jeep, i need to go to the clubhouse afterwards."

"I have yet to return to the clubhouse… Juice is always over and Jax pops up on occasion, he and Monica are pretty much best friends." Bri smiled. "Let's get going, do you want the address or do you just want to follow?"

The blonde laughed. "Wonder if she ever forgave Hap... He asked about her the other day... Asked if she was still in town." She shrugged, "I'll just follow..."

"I forgot to tell you, Miss Monica is here for good, someone let me have her… I get to mom her until I cannot mom her anymore." Bri chuckled. "She asked if he was still calling me a slut… I told her he's been nicer."

Jacey laughed. "Stick them in a room together, they'll be back together in no time..."

"He's invited to stop by anytime… I'm still holding out that you two buy the house next to mine… I'd die from excitement if we were neighbors." The brunette smiled. "Let's go, I'm starving and need breadsticks. Come on Lana, lead us to the food."

Lana shook her head. "Only if you tell me why Moni gets to be with the God but I don't..." She laughed, shaking her head again.

"Because she's six and they have this weird bond… Now if you were to develop a bond with Happy, Jacey would kill you and I'd have to be the one to dig your grave." Bri patted her friend on the ass. "Let's get food now."

The blonde laughed. "You can be friends, just don't make any moves on him... I really don't wanna introduce violence to Cupcake... I'm trying to make her sweet and kind. It's already challenging enough." She laughed again, locking her front door before following after the two Russians to the parking lot.

"You don't share like Bri does?" Svetlana looked back at Jacey as she unlocked her Range Rover.

Bri kicked the brunette in front of her. "You weren't supposed to bring that shit up Lana!"

"This fucking car... God bless America, this car." Jacey stared at the car, her blue eyes roaming over every piece of it. "Too late, what's she talking about, B?"

"Nothing." Bri pulled open the car door. "You should get you one of these, it's baby friendly."

"You should tell me what the fuck she was talking about..." Jacey cocked an amused eyebrow at her best friend. "Or I can't just tell Cupcake to cry every time you look at her."

Bri sighed. "We may or may not have had a threesome the other night."

"It was amazing!" Svetlana shouted from the driver's seat.

Jacey covered her face. "With who?"

"Juice…" Bri looked at Jacey. "I would never bring Jax into the shenanigans Lana and I get ourselves into."

The blonde shook her head. "You mean to tell me you actually shared him? Kind of the equivalent to him cheating, isn't it?" She rolled her eyes. "Hope that was fun..."

"It's not cheating… It was just innocent fun plus I mostly hogged Lana because stuff." She shrugged. "It was fun, I hope to introduce her to some Mayans, you should tag along for that Jacey…"

The blonde stopped in her tracks. "Quit now... You're way too ahead of yourself."

"I'd never let her around you know who… Just his dad." Bri shook her head. "Get in your Jeep and follow us Jacey, I'll let you buy whatever you want off the menu."

Jacey shook her head, moving to the driver's door of the jeep. "I'm not gonna let you buy my part. That's unnecessary."

"Friends buy each other food, plus I want to treat the Cupcake to whatever she's craving, it's bound to be something expensive too. I can see it already." She climbed into the passenger's side of the baby blue Range Rover. "We can fight about who pays when the check comes."

Jacey climbed into her Jeep and rolled her eyes. "I need to talk to Dani about this shit in my head. Damn." She mumbled to herself as she pulled out of the complex, following after the Range Rover.

**SOA**

"Going out to eat with Jacey was fun." Svetlana mused while she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it away. "I don't think she likes me too much which is too bad."

Bri shrugged. "She's pregnant and hormonal, she'll get to know you and she'll like you… It could have been a worse first meeting."

The brunette scoffed. "I don't know, what's with the whole threesome reaction though… I don't get why she saw it as you letting Juice cheat, that was a weird remark to make."

"I guess that's just her opinion, I didn't see it as cheating, I thought it was a night of fun between three adults… I don't think he'd go out of his way to fuck you one on one and same goes for you Svet." Bri braided her hair before carefully wiping the makeup off her face.

"Ew, no. Juice isn't my type, I just needed some dick to be honest." She dropped her shoulders. "I totally need to find me someone less goofy and more intense than what your boyfriend has to offer."

Bri laughed. "I have just the man for you to meet then Svetlana." She turned to the door and watched it open slowly.

"Brianna." Juice walked in, tossing his backpack towards the reading chair as he walked over to the brunette and kissed her. "Surprise!"

"Hey babe." She smiled up at him. "I thought you were gonna be at the clubhouse helping Happy with finding shit for Jacey…"

He nodded. "I finished helping him… I do need to talk to you though babe, alone." He glanced over at Svetlana who moved from the bed quickly and left the room.

The brunette blinked up at him. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to be alone with you." He started dotting kisses all over her face, only stopping when she started laughing. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah." She stood up, letting him drag her to the bed. "I'm very okay with that babe." She tugged her shirt over her head and tossed it away.

Juice let out a low growl as he grabbed her ass and nipped at her neck roughly. "God you're so fucking gorgeous." He pulled away from her long enough to strip out of his clothes. "I can't get enough of you." He pushed her down onto the bed, taking his spot between her legs, his finger running over the crotch of her panties which was already soaked. "I see you're already turned on babe…" He dipped his head, sucking on each of her nipples before pulling away and rolling each erect bud between his index and thumb.

"I need you…" She pushed her panties down her legs and kicked them off. "I don't need none of that foreplay shit right now Juan." She sat up, his lips instantly on hers as she wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking it slowly as the kiss deepened. "I just need you right now…"

He nodded, breaking the kiss as he grabbed his discarded jeans, searching his wallet quickly for a rubber. "Shit babe, I don't have a rubber." He looked down at her and frowned.

"It's fine, I'm safe." Bri smiled as she began stroking his cock again. "I promise you that Juan Carlos." She leaned forward, sinking her teeth into his chest before getting pushed on her back.

"Alright." The man kneeled once more between her legs, dragging his aching member up and down her slick folds before placing himself at her entrance, with one swift move he was inside her. "I never get tired of this." He grabbed her hips, smiling as she positioned herself without much instruction as he began his fast thrusting motion, his fingers digging into the flesh of her hips each time he pounded into her. The sound of her pleasure quickly drowning out the sound of their fleshing slapping against each other.

"Oh fuck." She moaned as she let her head fall back, the feeling of him being inside of her pushing her rapidly to her first climax. She gripped his wrists and let his name fall from lips as she hit her first orgasm. Her hips rolling into him as she rode out her orgasm.

Juice smirked to himself as he worked quickly to his own release. He was in an all new blissful place as he opened his eyes and saw her staring back at him, her grey eyes dark with lust, her mouth slightly open as moans escaped, her neck and chest flushed red as she still came down from her orgasm. "Fuck." He mumbled as he started to feel her contract around his cock again, sending a delicious vibration between him as she started to shudder before settling back down. He slammed into her a few more times before spilling his seed into her. "I love you Brianna." He gently laid his weight on top of her, his tongue licking the side of her face as he felt her legs wrap around his waist.

"I love you too." Bri dragged her nails over his back as she regained her composure and sense. "We need to do this way more often…" She laughed as she heard him yawn as he rolled off her before pulling the sheet over their naked forms, pulling her close into him.

* * *

**Let me know what you thought about the chapter. (:**


	17. Chapter 17 It's A

**September 1, 2008**

Juice looked at the brunette across the table from him, he flashed her a smile only to receive a scowl from her. He shook his head, trying to figure out how to get her to smile back at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The brunette crossed her arms and glared at the man across from her. "Eat your food, it'll get cold."

He shook his head. "Monica, I just want to be friends."

"Why?" The green eyed beauty looked at the man as she chomped on her blueberry waffle.

"Because I'm dating Bri and it'd be cool if we could hang out and be friends like how you're friends with Jax and Happy." He smiled once more at the little girl. "So can we try and be friends Monica?"

"Sure but I don't really like you too much." She shrugged her tiny shoulders. "I saw you make her cry the other night… She told you to leave and then she was sitting against the door and just crying her eyes out."

Juice swallowed hard and sighed. "I didn't mean to make her cry, she just thought I did something bad and it made her sad… I apologized for it."

Monica blinked at him. "Don't let it happen again or I'll have to kick your ass."

"Hey, watch your mouth Monica Elizaveta." Bri narrowed her eyes at the six year old. "Don't be mean to him unless he absolutely deserves it… Did he eat your waffles or what?"

"No…" She glared at the man before looking up at the brunette. "I told him if he makes you cry again I'll kick his ass and I will do it…"

The brunette shook her head, biting back a smirk. "Oh, so you're defending my honor now? That's acceptable for me, sorry Juice." She kissed his cheek before stealing a few of his grapes. "I have a big day planned, have to do the whole baby gender reveal party… The company is coming to turn this fortress into something amazing. I'm very excited to be having this for Jacey and Happy." She clapped her hands together.

"I hope she's having a girl!" Monica yelled. "I want a girl cousin!"

"You'll have to be at the party and find out!" Bri smiled at the young girl. "I love you Moni, now if you're finished with your breakfast, you know the drill… Brush your teeth then come back down and I'll do your hair, you're wearing that outfit?" She tugged on her niece's lacey black tutu and smiled. "It's very mature."

"I was inspired by the black swan." She slid off her chair and twirled around. "Then, look at these sneakers." She stuck out her foot to show off the white Nikes she had on. "Jax got them for me the other day, they're just like the ones he always wears."

"I love the whole outfit, all you're missing is a cute headband." Bri smiled. "Go brush your teeth then bang on Svet's door for me and tell her to bring her booty down here so she can help us with the planning."

"Alright!" Monica smiled before skipping out of the kitchen.

"Pretty sure she hates me." Juice frowned and buried his face into Bri's hair. "I just want her to like me!"

"She'll warm up to you…" She patted his head and smiled. "So, I'll have your whole club in my damn house, what should I be worried about?"

He kissed her before shrugging his shoulders. "You should be worried about the amount they drink, if you run out of booze, they'll be upset and get rowdy!"

She frowned and kissed him back. "They better not trash my fucking house! So help me God, I will call in the mercenaries to take them all out." She traced his lips with her tongue and sighed. "You think we can get in a quickie before Monica comes back down?"

"Nooo, you know I hate quickies babe." He smirked against her lips before pulling her onto his lap. "I don't think they'll trash your house too bad, if they do I'll help clean it back up." He rubbed her bare thighs and smiled. "Why are your shorts so damn short? Stand up and let me look?"

Bri stood up and turned around. "They're not that short…" She smacked his hand away when he tugged on the back of her shorts. "Tell me you don't love them and I'll take them off and put on something different."

Juice stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No, I love them… I just thought they were a little short but they cover everything so I'm good… You gonna wear them all day? Do I get to show off how gorgeous my girl is?"

"I'm going to wear them all the way up until the party, then I'll change into a dress." She smiled. "It'll still be show off worthy, so don't worry babe."

"Ew, you two need a room." Svetlana looked at the couple. "Why did you have the mini you wake me up so early Kat?"

"First of all, it's nearing ten in the morning Svet." Bri shook her head as she looked at her friend. "You need to shower and stuff, it's party day! You get to meet all the guys, some of them are even mildly attractive and somewhat single."

"That's all you had to say." The brunette smirked. "I'll go get ready and stuff to help you set up booboo."

"That girl is going places." Bri chuckled and watched the brunette flounce out as Monica strutted in, a black bandana tied in her messy curls. "Oh, I love the look, very baby ballerina biker." She tugged on the girl's leather jacket. "When you get home from Hap and Jacey's this weekend, I'm going to take you to the spa and we're going to have the most fabulous time… Would you love that?"

Monica nodded. "I would love that, can I get my nails painted white?" She looked at her tiny hands before looking at Bri's nails. "I want them like yours!"

"Of course my love, anything for my little princess!" She picked up the girl and dotted her face with kisses. "Why do you have to leave me? Huh? Can't you have sleepovers here with Jacey and Happy?"

The little brunette shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know! I'll ask them if they want to have a sleepover here one day though! They'd love the Fortress." She kissed Bri and smiled. "I love you though, I'm always going to come back to you!"

"I love you too." Bri smiled. "More than you'll ever know… I'll try to explain it to you one day soon."

Monica nodded. "I can't wait for some cake… Can Monster come to the party?"

"He'll be in the backyard, in his part of the yard. I don't want him getting excited and biting everyone."

The six year old nodded. "I can't wait to see Jax so I can show him that I'm wearing the sneakers he bought me."

"Well, I think you should go grab my purse from my bed for me, then we can get all set up and have a cupcake as a reward." She smiled and watched the brunette runoff. "I'm excited for this party!"

**SOA**

Bri looked around the house, smiling at the perfect decorations. She had spared no expense for the party and it looked that way. The gender neutral colors of greens and yellows popped, there were tables of food and an endless supply of liquor, it pained her to buy brown liquor but she had sucked it up and done it, she of course stayed true to her roots and tossed in a couple bottles of vodka for good measure. "I love it!"

"All this for a baby gender reveal?" Juice snaked his arms around the brunette's waist and kissed her neck softly.

"Yes! This is my first grand gesture for the baby and I'm excited for it… Plus, it's a good way to meet the rest of the Sons that you call your family." She sighed and relaxed into his arms. "You think it's too much?"

He shrugged. "I don't think it's too much per se but I think Gemma is going to have some choice words for you being the one throwing this party for _her_ daughter…"

"If she has a problem she can lick my ass because I don't care… Jacey is my sister, the baby is my new little love and I can't wait to throw even more parties for the both of them." She smiled at him. "I just hope this party is drama free... "

"Should be." Juice kissed her lips and smiled. "The guests should start arriving soon."

Bri sighed and slipped her hands under her boyfriend's shirt. "I'm going to need to relieve some stress after this party... You're spending the night right?"

"Yeah, of course I am." He nodded and ran his hands over her ass. "I don't know if I can wait til after the party though…"

"Sluts, you need to get a room." Svetlana pulled open the giant front door. "There are people outside already and you two are in here trying to bang each other…"

Bri shrugged. "I didn't hear a doorbell or anything, so for as much as I know, they just pulled up to the house." She shook her head and looked out the door before smiling. "It's Jax and Kozik… Monica will be happy to show off her sneakers to Jax."

"Who's the troll on his arm?" Svetlana eyed the woman standing next to Jax and frowned.

"That's Tara…" Juice shook his head. "This party isn't going to be drama free after all… That's his ex girlfriend, he messed around with her, now Wendy, his wife left him and doesn't want him to see their son."

"Holy shit." Bri frowned. "At least I didn't wreck that home on my own… I feel bad because I didn't know about Wendy until after that whole shit storm happened."

"Jax!" Monica charged the man as soon as he walked in, her arms latching onto his. "Look! I have my sneaks on! Just like yours!"

He picked her up and looked at her feet and smirked. "Yeah, I knew you'd love them Monica." He kissed her cheek before setting her down. "This is my friend Tara, Tara this is my friend Monica…"

The tiny brunette looked up at the taller brunette and took a step back. "I am going outside to wait for Happy… I have something to tell him."

"Monica, wait." Jax looked at the six year old as she brushed past him. "One Hohrykova upset already…"

Bri shook her head. "So, we meet again." She circled Tara and snarled at her. "Didn't think you'd manage to sneak him away from me…"

Tara smirked at Bri and shrugged. "The best woman won…"

"I don't think the best woman won, I think the dumbest woman did." She looked at Jax before grabbing his hand and leading him into the kitchen. "You're aware that Wendy may show up here tonight Jax?" She crossed her arms and watched him drag a hand down his face. "What're you going to do about that shit? Jacey hates Tara! You really thought this was a smart move asshole!? You know your sister, she's going to want to fuck Tara up regardless of her being pregnant…"

He frowned. "I forgot all about it, I wasn't fucking thinking but I can't send her away right now Bri." He moved forward, resting his hands on the woman's hips. "You argued with Tara over me or what?"

She knocked his hands away. "No, I brought up your name and she got all curious about it… She kept calling me Bianca."

Jax grabbed her hips again. "Is that right Darlin'?" He flashed her his infamous lopsided smirk.

"I'm with Juice, so this isn't happening…" Bri slipped out of his grasp. "Have fun, if you guys start some type of fight, I'll fuck you all over and call in Oakland PD."

He frowned and followed her back out of the kitchen. "We won't get into any shit." He smiled at her. "You look good as hell tonight too…"

The brunette shook her head as she walked away from Jax and out the front door to find Juice and Monica. "Babe…" She grabbed Juice by the back of his cut and sighed. "Barely even started and there's already shit brewing… What the fuck was I thinking allowing all this crazy into my home?"

Juice shrugged turning around and grabbing Bri into a hug. "You're doing something nice for Jacey and Happy… That's why you're allowing this shit to be in your house." He smiled at her. "I think Gemma is still gonna be your biggest problem…"

She rolled her eyes as she watched Monica coming running towards them. "Woah monkey, slow it down, yeah?"

Monica grabbed a hold of Juice's jeans and frowned up at him. "I don't want to be at this party… There are mean looking guys here!"

Juice frowned back at her before moving from Bri to pick up the girl. "What's wrong? Show me where the meanie faces are!"

She pointed towards the gate. "They're on the outside of the gate! They look so mean, one is bigger than Happy!" She looked at Juice then to the gate and pouted. "Don't take me over there, I'm too scared!"

He chuckled. "Those men, they're friends of mine and Happy's... They were invited to the party because they know Jacey." He set her down, taking her small hand in his larger one. "I'll protect you, I promise."

"Good." She nodded. "If you don't, Bri will kick your ass."

Juice sighed as he led her to the gate, entering the code he watched it slide open before walking out of it and towards his brothers. "The party is on the other side of this gate."

"Juicy!" Chibs smiled at the young man before his eyes dropped to Monica. "Ye got somethin' to tell us?"

He shook his head. "She's not my daughter… Dating her aunt."

"She's too cute to be yours." Tig looked at her and smirked as she moved behind Juice. "Shy little thing are you?"

Monica shook her head, peeking around Juice. "No! I just don't know you guys!" She moved back behind him, latching on to the young man's leg.

"That's Tig, Chibs, Opie, Half Sack." Juice pointed to the men one by one. "This little beauty right here is Monica… She's Bri's niece."

"Those are funny names." Monica laughed. "Almost as funny as Juice."

"Aye." Chibs grabbed the little girl. "Ye gonna show me to the party?"

She nodded. "Yeah I am!" She smiled. "You just have to follow this path and bam, you're in the house and having fun!"

"Finally!" Bri looked at Monica and held out her arms, smiling as she jumped into them. "I thought I was going to have to come and look for you guys… There's drinks inside, food too…" She smiled as each man passed her and entered the house. "Jacey will be here soon." She eyed the black SUV that was creeping up the driveway. "That's Gemma, right?"

Juice nodded. "Good luck with that… I'm going to grab a drink." He kissed her cheek before moving into the house, leaving the two brunettes alone to meet Gemma.

"Baby, if Gemma hits me, I'm going to need you to run inside and grab Svetlana." Bri whispered into the girl's ear as Gemma and a dirty blonde walked towards her.

Monica nodded as Bri set her back on the ground. "She looks like she swallowed a basketball!" She jutted a finger at the blonde.

"She's pregnant Moni, mind your manners." Bri smiled. "You must be Gemma."

Gemma eyed the brunette and scoffed. "Yeah and this is Wendy, Jax's soon to be ex wife."

Wendy rubbed her belly and offered a friendly smile to the brunette before her eyes dropped to the tiny brunette beside the taller one. "She yours?"

"Yeah, this is Monica." Bri rubbed the girl's hair and smiled.

"Woah! You are married to Jax? He's my friend, we have tea parties and play cowboys and Indians together." Monica smiled up at Wendy.

Gemma shook her head, pushing past the duo and into the house. "This your place Russia?"

Bri sighed and nodded. "Yes, it is my home." She smiled at Gemma. "The food and stuff is there, booze over there. If you follow that trail of balloons you'll be outside, there's more food and stuff out there."

"A little extravagant for a gender reveal party isn't it?" Gemma eyed the brunette and shook her head. "Waste of money…"

The brunette shrugged. "It's for Jacey and Happy, I love them so they get the best of the best from me." She smiled and turned on her heel, her grey eyes trained on Jax who was sitting blissfully on the sofa. "Your pregnant ex wife is in my home Jackson…"

Jax shrugged. "She and Jacey are friends…"

"Unbelievable, you're drunk already." She shook her head as she grabbed the bottle of liquor from him. "There's still a few hours until you can be absolutely hammered."

He nodded. "I'm not drunk darlin'..."

"Good, keep it that way Jax… Don't ruin this shit for Jacey… She's already going to freak when she sees that Tara is here." Bri took the bottle and dropped it into a planted palm as she made her way back towards the other guests, eagerly awaiting Jacey and Happy's arrival.

* * *

Jacey and Happy walked up the familiar path, letting themselves into the Oakland home without so much as a knock. They were running a little late to their own party but hoped the hostess wouldn't be too mad about it. "This is cute." The blonde looked around the party set up, noticing that no one was around. "They're probably out back."

Happy smacked the smiley face balloons that lead down the hall and out to the backyard, his dark eyes scanning the expanse. "We found them all…" He smirked as he saw his brothers being rowdy and loud like they normally do.

"Finally!" Bri threw her arms around Jacey. "I need to tell you some shit right now so you don't fucking flip out and go into fighting mode."

The blonde looked at the brunette. "What happened? What did Gemma do?"

"Oh, this has nothing to do with Gemma… Your brother brought Tara to this party! I tried to get him to make her leave but he is too bad off already to drive! Then to top it off, his pregnant almost ex wife Wendy is here and she keeps looking at me weird." She took a deep breath and looked back at the guests.

Jacey blinked at the Russian standing in front of her. "Please, please, tell me you're lying about Jax bringing that bitch… It's not a funny joke!"

Bri shook her head, turning to point out a secluded Tara sitting by the pool. "I couldn't get her to leave Jacey! Don't hate me! Just have fun, if anything say the word and I'll beat her ass, got it babe?"

The blonde nodded, tearing her eyes away from Tara and training them on her brother. "I will kick his ass…"

Happy shook his head. "No, you're not fighting… You're pregnant and here for a celebration, not a fucking throw down… If you want to fight use the priss as your proxy." He smirked at Brianna. "She offered."

"I won't start any shit, just take me to the food table Bri." Jacey laced her arm through Bri's and smile as they walked towards the tables. "This is a pretty nice spread."

"Thanks." Bri smiled. "I tried my best to get stuff that everyone would love to eat."

She nodded. "The cupcake thanks you… So, how does this whole cupcake gender reveal go, pinata, balloons, cake? What?"

The brunette shook her head. "I have a present, it's something special and it'll have the color of the gender… You and Happy will love it so much… I'm so excited for this Jacey, like you have no damn idea how badly I've been waiting for this… I woke up and nearly busted my ass getting out of bed to start setup."

Jacey laughed and rolled her eyes at her best friend. "I appreciate this whole thing Bri… It means alot to me and I'm not going to let the troll being here ruin shit for me."

"That's the spirit… Taste those donut looking things, they're to die for J." Bri hugged her best friend and smiled. "I hope you don't get too mad but I bought you a gift… Like a gift for you and not for the cupcake."

"Why would I be mad? I love gifts." She smirked as she watched the woman pull a small box from her dress' pocket. "You're killing me, why does your dress have pockets?"

The brunette shrugged. "So I can tote around gifts for my sister!" She handed her the box and smiled. "Open it! Open it! Open it!"

The blue eyed beauty rolled her eyes and opened the little box, her jaw going slack as she eyed the diamonds. "B, I can't let you give me this! This has to be worth a fortune!"

Bri shrugged. "It's my gift to you Jacey, it's like the ring I'm always wearing, I know you loved that design, now you have your own… To wear around your neck, something that ties us together even more so than before. You're my best friend and sister, I'm so honored to be allowed to go through this experience with you Jacey… We've been through a lot, together and separately… We're doing amazing now… So, it's time… Jacey, will you do me the honor of being my sister until death?"

Jacey nodded her head. "Yes!" She hugged the brunette before lifting her hair up and letting her sister put the necklace on. "I love you sis."

"I love you too sis." Bri chuckled as they hugged once more. "Wait until I tell Aleksandr that you said yes! He's going to be excited! May even jump up and down with me, he hasn't done that since I was six and his knees were still in good shape."

The blonde smirked. "I'd love to see that shit… Where is he anyways?"

"He is around, blending in…" The brunette pointed towards Aleksandr who was half hidden behind a palm tree. "He's being one with nature."

"You meet my mom? Did she attack you?" Jacey picked up a bottle of water before walking with Bri over to Gemma and Wendy. "Thanks for coming you two." She gave Wendy a brief hug before smiling at her mom.

Gemma just blinked at her daughter. "I wish I would have had the option of hosting a party for you, let me guess Russia is gonna host the baby shower as well?"

The blonde shook her head. "No, she's not hosting the baby shower…"

"Aw." Bri mumbled as she sat down awkwardly next to Wendy. "So, what are you having?" She pointed to the baby bump.

Wendy glared at the brunette. "I'm having a boy… I don't know why you care."

The brunette shrugged. "I really don't care to be honest, I'm just being nosey as all hell right now…"

"I ripped my tutu!" Monica dropped into Bri's lap, looking at the women as tears rolled down her flushed cheeks.

"My love, it's okay, let's go get you the other tutu, yeah?" Bri stood up with the little girl wrapped around her. "You want to wear the red one?"

The little girl nodded her head as she wiped her face. "Yes, please."

"J, I'm going to fix this wardrobe issue then when I come out we can reveal the gender if you and Happy are ready for it." The woman smiled at the blonde.

"Yeah, yeah. That sounds good." Jacey nodded and squeezed Monica's knee. "Cheer up, at least you didn't mess up those white shoes Monica." She smirked as the two brunettes walked into the house. "You have a problem with Bri…"

Gemma nodded. "She isn't family, she's stuck up and what woman her age has a house like this? What does she even do Jacey? She marry rich and whack her husband in his damn sleep?"

The blonde rolled her eyes. "She's a surgeon who happens to be a Hohrykova… She's from old money Gemma, she didn't obtain any of this illegally… Just chill out and be happy for me and have fun at this party! You're getting a grandchild and all you're focused on is the fact you didn't get to throw this party!"

"I'm happy for you baby, I just wanted to be the one who put together parties… It's a family thing, are you trying to say that she's more family than I am." The older woman pursed her lips as she rested her fists on her bony hips.

Jacey shook her head. "She's family, she's the sister I've always wanted. Just accept the fact and move on with it."

"Sisters don't fuck their brothers." Gemma scoffed. "You thought I wouldn't see the way Jax eyed the little tart?"

"That's between those two… If you're not happy here Gemma, then you can leave. I really don't care anymore… Stay or go." She turned away from her mom and headed towards her boyfriend, she just needed a friendly face to calm her down. "Hap…"

"What's wrong Jace?" Happy looked at his girlfriend and frowned. "What did the Russian do to you?"

"My mom is being a bitch… She's all bent out of shape because of Bri throwing us this party and not her!" Jacey dragged him to the wicker loveseat and sat down, draping her legs over his legs. "Bri wants to do the reveal when she comes out of the house, I guess Monica ripped up her tutu and was upset over it."

He chuckled. "She ripped it trying to scale up the damn palm tree… I told her to knock it off but she didn't listen to me quick enough." He rubbed her calves and smiled at her. "Don't let Gemma get to you though, enjoy the day." He smiled at her before his dark eyes landed on the necklace she was now wearing. "Where'd you get that?"

Her fingers went up to the necklace and smiled. "Brianna, she fucking proposed, asked me to be her sister forever." She felt the diamond shaped necklace and smiled. "I said yes, so we're sisters forever now."

"I'm here!" Bri walked towards them, carrying a big black and white gift bag. "I have the present, that'll reveal the baby's gender… Don't look at me like that Happy, it's not a fur coat or anything Russian… Just a simple item." She smiled at the couple. "You two ready?"

Happy nodded. "Yeah priss, we're ready." He smirked at her before watching her walk away and towards the group of people. "She's something else, I wonder what the fuck she bought, it better not be no stupid shit either..."

"Okay!" Bri handed the bag to Jacey and Happy as the crowd gathered around them in a sloppy circle. "Let's do this, they're going to open the gift and the gender will be very obvious, hopefully. It's gonna be messy."

Jacey eyed her friend before looking around to see her mom still standing among the crowd. "Alright, let's see what the cupcake is." She reached into the bag and pulled out the item, letting the bag drop to the ground as her and Happy eyed the black tissue paper. She tore at the paper and watched the paper flutter to the ground.

"Holy shit." Happy looked at the baby sized cut nestled in the tissue paper before grabbing it and holding it up, a cascade of pink confetti fluttering from the bottom of it.

"It's a girl!" Monica screamed. "I'm gonna have a girl to play tea party with!"

Jacey smiled at the cut her boyfriend was holding. "It looks like your but with pink stitching babe." She grabbed it out of his hands and admired the patches on the cut. "Dads P.I.C." She looked up and met Bri's eyes and noticed her friend was crying.

"She actually did good with this gift." Happy smirked at the leather before taking it back from Jacey as his brothers came over to congratulate him as Jacey slinked away.

"B, what's wrong?" Jacey hugged her best friend.

Bri shrugged. "I just realized we're in different stages of life again… You're going to have a baby and you won't be able to do crazy shit with me anymore… Jacey." She buried her face into the blonde's neck and sighed.

The blonde shook her head. "We'll still have other shit to do, shop, spoil the girl, annoy Happy by dressing her like a baby Russian… It's not the end of the world B, yeah we're on different paths right now but we can always meet in the middle and have fun… Don't forget it and thanks for not getting a pink fur coat, Hap loves the little cut… The patches on it are perfect."

"I know but still! I wasn't done making more crazy memories with you Jacey… Now we both have some serious responsibilities." The brunette sighed.

Jacey nodded. "Yeah, I know." She hugged the brunette again. "This was cute, I know you went all out for it but it seems so simple and perfect."

"The expense was that top shelf liquor!" Bri shook her head. "It was the best for the guys, they're technically my family too now that I'm with Juice and we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend as crazy as that sounds for me to say."

"What's the special occasion?" Bri and Jacey turned to the sound of the voice, both gaping at the person standing in front of them. "Surprised to see me here?" The mystery guess smirked, their hazel eyes twinkling as the two women just stared.

**to be continued...**


	18. Chapter 18 Clique

Bri smiled at the blonde before wrapping her arms around her. "Nik!" She kissed her little sister's cheeks before pulling away and smiling. "What the hell are you doing here!?"

Nik shrugged. "I've been in town a little while… I stopped by to see Monica and told her not to tell you that I was here… Surprise!" She looked between her sister and the pregnant blonde.

"This is the infamous Nik?" Jacey sized up the blonde before frowning. "I'm Jacey."

The blonde pulled in Jacey for a hug. "I know who you are! My sister's American sister." She chuckled before letting the woman go. "This some type of baby shower or some shit?"

"It's a gender reveal party… J is having a little girl!" Bri clapped her hands as she watched Juice walking towards them with Kozik. "Hey babe." She smiled as Juice wrapped her into a tight hug and kissed her temple. "This is my sister Nik, Nik, this is Juan, and that's Kozik." She pointed to the large man.

"I remember him…" Nik narrowed her eyes at Juice. "I know all about the history… Nice to meet you Kozik, you German or what?" She eyed the blonde biker with a coy grin as he eyed her right back.

Kozik shrugged. "I'm just plain ol' white sweetheart." He gave the blonde a wide smirk before looking at Bri. "You never told me there were more of you…"

"You never asked." Bri shook her head as she wrapped an arm around her sister's waist. "You can go mingle but I would recommend staying away from some of these men… They're too much for you too handle."

Nik nodded. "He's handsome." She pointed to Happy who was standing next to Jax. "Has the whole tattooed thing going, I can dig it."

"No, he's Jacey's boyfriend." The brunette shook her head as she heard Jacey emit a low growl in her left ear. "He's very off limits... "

The blonde frowned. "I can respect that… You pulled a handsome one Jacey, right on love." She smiled at the blue eyed beauty. "This is where you two tell me that the hottest ones are taken and that I'll have to look elsewhere for a new bed buddy."

Bri chuckled. "Something like that, I have someone in mind for you but he's not here… I'll introduce you to him in the next few days."

"Auntie Nik!" Monica threw herself at the blonde's legs and smiled up at her. "I can't believe you're here! Have you met my friends yet?" She grabbed the woman's hand and started to tug her away from the group. "You have to meet my best friend, his name is Happy and my other almost best friend, his name is Jax!"

"Lead the way then princess." The blonde allowed herself to be dragged away from the small group.

"I have to go pee." Jacey looked at Bri before stomping into the house.

"J!" Bri caught up with the blonde. "What's wrong?"

The blonde shook her head as she walked into the bathroom, letting a groan out as the brunette followed her inside. "What's going on Brianna? First Svetlana, now Nikola? Are you trying to replace me already!?"

"I'm not replacing you! I swear to God! You're not even replaceable Jacey." She sat on the sink and looked at her friend. "Aleksandr invited Svet to town and Nik has been an impending arrival for awhile now… I just never expected her to show up now… I promise, I'm not trying to replace you at all… I just asked you to be my sister forever… Now are you going to pee or do you need time to be alone and emotional?"

"A little bit of both." Jacey laughed. "I'll be out soon, I promise."

Bri nodded. "Alright, if you fall in just holler for ya girl." She winked and left the bathroom, leaving her friend to work through her hormones.

**SOA**

"Juice." Bri climbed into bed, plopping down on the man relaxing. "I'm so damn tired baby, I need like some sleep and some cuddles."

Juice nodded as he rubbed her bare back, loving the fact that she had taken to sleeping in only panties, making it easier for him to get the always needed skin on skin contact he craved from her. "I can cuddle you, it'll make you fall asleep."

She nodded. "Today was a success, I mean… It's damn near three in the morning and we got everyone situated and safe. I never thought I'd have a house full of drunk bikers though." She nipped at his jawline and smiled.

He chuckled as he pulled on the waistband of her shorts. "I knew it was bound to happen, the amount of liquor you had here was basically triple the supply we have at the clubhouse." He cupped her ass and gave a light squeeze. "You're an amazing friend to Jacey… I do have to ask though, what happened to you and Giselle? You and here were as close as you and Jacey are right now."

Bri sat up and quickly moved away from Juice. "You don't know? Giselle passed away… It was something I never really got over… I don't think about it too often. I miss her, she was my life for a long time… She passed, jesus, a little before I met Jacey."

"I'm sorry baby." He pulled her back to him, his fingers massaging the back of her neck as he heard her sniffle. "I didn't know… I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, I guess she's in a better place or whatever… I just don't like to think of her being gone, I love to pretend that she's still here. I even call her phone sometimes just to hear her stupid ass voicemail, just to calm my nerves." She buried her face into his chest and sighed. "It's been tough but it's good, I know she and Jacey would have loved each other if they met… Can you imagine feisty ass Jacey and Giselle's firecracker personality? The world wouldn't have been ready for that pairing."

Juice laughed. "That would have been so much blonde hair, blue eyes, and fucking attitude… It would have been insane."

Bri let out a sigh. "It would have been something to remember, that's for sure… Now I have to balance out spending time with Jacey, Svet and Nik… J's hormones had her thinking I was trying to replace her, I could never… I just didn't expect Svet to ever come stateside and want to actually stay and my sister is just unpredictable, she can be here a few hours or a few years, you never know with that one… She's something strange."

He let out a lazy yawn before pulling her even closer. "You can balance it out if anything… Just don't forget about me, Monica or your job… Monica and your job above all Bri, you've been wanting to be a surgeon since I took you to meet my mom… Monica looks up to you a lot so you have to always make time for her… She's your mini me, except she wants to be a boss and not a surgeon."

She nodded. "I'll never forget about Monica… She's the love of my life." She smiled against his chest as he pulled the soft, plush blanket over their bodies. "Now, let's get to sleep."

"I love you." Juice pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Bri nodded. "I love you too."

**September 3, 2008**

Brianna yawned as she dropped down to the sofa, she had spent the last two hours directing the cleaning crew how to clean her home. She wasn't good with the fact that they had managed to track mud into her house, marking not only her hardwood floors but some of her carpet as well. She tied her hair into a messy side pony and watched as the last of the crew walked out of the house. "I swear to God, you can't get any decent help in the states! They now owe me more than I owe them for their services."

"My dear, you should be calm my love." Aleksandr patted her on the knee before sitting down next to her. "I have a gift, for Jacey's daughter." He passed her a small box and smiled. "It's nothing too extravagant but it's like the ones I gave you and Monica when you both were born."

She nodded and opened it, smiling at the little bracelet that was nestled in the pink fabric. "It's cute but you don't have a name to engrave into it yet…" She picked up the bracelet, admiring the two tiny pink diamonds on either side of the ID plate. "Jacey will love it, I'm not too sure about Happy though."

He shrugged. "He doesn't have to like it, it's what I gift to the girls in my life… I've done it for you and Monica because you two are my own… I see Jacey as a daughter, I love her as if she were my own and I'll love her daughter as if she was my own… I just need to buy Jacey a present… Something that fits her personality."

"A black Range Rover with baby blue accents that match her eyes." Bri smirked up at the man. "It'll be a practical gift too, toss a matching car seat in the back for the baby and you're going to be golden."

Aleksandr laughed. "I can do that, if that's what she wants as a gift but isn't Svetlana's baby blue?" He stood up and smiled down at the brunette. "Get your sister, Svet and Monica and go shopping or something. You four need to bond."

"Hers was wrapped, it's a flashy gold color now." She shrugged her shoulders and set the bracelet box aside. "Are you trying to make us bond? Or do you just want peace and quiet for a few hours?"

"Both." He smirked. "I'll leave the cash on your nightstand, don't just spend it all on yourself and Monica, split it four ways Katarzyna or five if you take Jacey!"

The brunette rolled her eyes as she stood from the sofa. "I don't know it Jacey will want to come with the Russian brigade to shop… She's a little sensitive to the two new additions to the crew."

"It'll be good for her if she's exposed to those two… It'll make you guys a band of sisters or friends… Just make sure Svetlana and Nikola behave and don't annoy the poor girl." Aleksandr hugged the young woman. "Behave and have fun, that's the goal for today, got it?"

**SOA**

Bri, Svetlana, Nik and Monica laughed as they raced up the stairs to apartment 312, they had spilled out of the gold SUV in the parking lot and a race immediately ensued. "I'm winning!" Bri skidded to a stop, nearly colliding into the door as she doubled over in laughter.

"You cheated!" Lana shook her head as she rested on the banister to catch her breath. "No way you're faster than me!"

"You never said we had to play fair." The brunette shrugged as she knocked on the door before pressing the doorbell a few times. "Hopefully she's up for some shopping." She turned around and smiled as she saw Nik and Monica sitting on the top stair, trying to regain their composure.

"Do you ever call first?" Happy tapped Bri on the back. "Do you guys just multiply? Jacey! There are Russians outside our damn place again!" He eyed the brunette standing before him before his dark eyes moved to the other brunette, then the blonde, before finding the tiny brunette he was looking for. "They holding you hostage Monica?"

Monica laughed and moved, hugging Happy's legs. "No, we're going shopping."

He nodded. "Is that your new piece?" He pointed to the tattoo on Bri's side.

"No, it's an old piece… I got it back in July." Bri shrugged. "I was going to get my back piece done but it didn't work out in my favor… The artist didn't feel comfortable with trying to cover it up…" She smiled as she saw Jacey walking towards the door. "Jacey!"

"What's up Bri?" The blonde eyed the brunette.

"We stopped by to see if you want to go shopping with us." She smiled. "It'll be fun! We can get cute outfits and eat in the food court… Hot dog on a stick babe, doesn't that sound so damn good?"

"You guys are going shopping dressed like that?" Jacey poked at Bri's exposed midriff and rolled her eyes. "I'm down to go shopping, just give me a little bit to get ready, you guys can come inside."

Bri shook her head. "Yeah… We're going to be down stairs in the parking lot." She looked back at Nik. "She's not too keen on going into someone's home without being friends… Take your time though Jacey, we have all day."

**SOA**

"That looks cute." Bri smiled at Jacey as she walked out of the dressing room in a strapless dress. "It shows off the baby bump!"

Jacey groaned and turned around and walked back in. "I want this dress B but when will I ever wear it again after I have the baby?"

"Probably, you can have it taken it J… It's a cute ass dress." The brunette rested her forehead against the dressing room door. "Get the dress, you know you want it."

"I'll get it." The blonde opened the door, causing the brunette to topple forward awkwardly. "Clumsy ass…" She laughed and watched Bri push herself off of the floor and fix her hair. "You should really wear more clothes."

Bri nodded. "I'm dressed like this so I can stop coming off as a Russian priss." She lifted and dropped her hair. "I think it's reading more Cali slut though…"

Jacey rolled her eyes. "I'm never going to have the abs you have, ever again." She shook her head as she rubbed her belly. "It's bound to be some horrendous shit happening."

"Your body will bounce back with some work, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. As a cosmetic surgeon I'm very familiar with bodies." The Russian laughed. "Unless you gain a substantial amount of weight, your body will snap back Jacey."

"I'm trying to avoid gaining too much weight." The blonde frowned as she poked her friend in the side causing her to laugh. "Happy would love to get in there and add to your piece."

Bri mumbled in Russian before smirking. "Yeah, I bet he would." She shrugged as she smiled at her best friend. "Lighten up, it's a joke."

"You trying to steal my boyfriend now Brianna?" Jacey crossed her arms and glared at her best friend.

"Oh God no!" The brunette shook her head. "I'm saying I bet he would because he probably thinks my ink is shit and he could do better… Chill out, let's get some food in you before you have a full on hormonal meltdown."

**SOA**

"Jacey fell asleep in the car." Bri explained to Happy as he eyed the large man holding his girlfriend. "I had to call Sweden here because I don't have your phone number and I didn't know where J put hers."

Happy nodded. "Where's the rest of your clique?" He opened his door and watched the large man step through and head to the living room to place Jacey on the sofa. "They ditch you already, priss?"

The brunette shrugged. "No, they're at home… I wanted to spend time with only Jacey, I feel like everything is changing between us and I sort of want to spend as much time with her as I can before the baby gets here and I hardly even see her."

He stared at the brunette before rolling his eyes. "You run off to Sweden, don't think about seeing her everyday yet her having a baby is changing everything?"

"It's different because we're on two different paths in life Happy… She's mom and I know I have a kid I'm responsible for but I still have some freedom to be reckless and all that… It's like I can't call her up at ten at night and be like let's go to the beach and eat mangoes… Or I can't be like hey, let's go grab a can of air freshener and a lighter and torch some shit."

"You'll get over it priss… Go be a parent to _your_ kid and stop freaking out about shit." He turned her towards the door. "Bye."

"Wait! I have all the stuff Jacey bought in the trunk… You want me to send them back up with Sweden?" Bri looked at him as he nodded. "Alright, bye Happy." She took the stairs two at a time as she made her way to her car, a frown etched into her beautiful face as she let the thoughts of not being able to include Jacey on her upcoming plans settle in. The tides were turning and she wasn't too sure she'd be able to handle it.


	19. Chapter 19 Secrets

**Let's get deep with this chapter and further explore some of those secrets Bri is keeping...**

* * *

Brianna tugged on the first shirt her hand touched, not caring that it didn't cover her completely as she stumbled out of her bedroom, rubbing her eyes as she walked down the stairs and towards the incessant ringing of her doorbell. She groaned as her feet hit the hardwood floor, the cold waking her up further as she looked down to make sure she had some form of panties on before continuing to the door. "What?" She yelled through the door before fumbling with the locks.

"It's me!" The voice came through.

She rolled her eyes and opened the door. "Like that fucking helps Esai." She stepped back and let the man stroll past her before she swung the door closed. "What're you doing here? I don't remember inviting you over."

He shrugged as he eyed the brunette. "You didn't invite me over… I just was in the neighborhood and decided to stop in."

"Yeah, alright but why?" She crossed her arms as she walked past him and into the living room. "What did I do?"

"Nothing… You're aware that you don't have pants on right?" Esai flashed his signature grin as he dropped onto the leather sofa. "I didn't think I'd meet so much resistance trying to visit an old friend of mine."

Bri shook her head. "I know I don't have pants on, I just woke up… I had an overnight shift in the ER because they needed an extra doctor and I volunteered even though I'm a surgeon… Don't ask me why I did that but I did."

"It still amazes me that the law is allowing you to practice medicine… You're so reckless at times Brianna." He laughed as she scowled at him. "Come on, sit and talk to me, we have a lot of shit to catch up on."

"Bri!" Nik came sliding into the living room before busting her ass. "That wasn't as graceful as I thought it'd be…"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I have a guest Nik, learn some goddamn manners bitch." She smirked at her best friend. "This is Esai and Esai this is Nik, my _younger_ sister."

"Damn." Nik tried her best to cover herself. "A little heads up would have been nice… I'll be right back."

"She's gorgeous." Esai watched the brunette disappear before looking back at Bri. "She sounds more Russian than you do too."

Bri shook her head. "Don't even go there E, Jacey would flip out on all of us if you started some shit with Nik…"

He shrugged. "She's moved on, so I'm gonna try to move on too… Right on to that gorgeous Russian and guess what? You're going to help me win her over… Please Bri?"

"You can move on but I'm not helping you win her over… I'm not screwing over my best friend to help you get into Nik's panties for one night." She shook her head. "I don't even know why I even let you come into my house, nothing ever good comes from being friends with an Alvarez."

Esai nodded. "You talk to Dani lately? I know you had this open door policy and told her she could come over whenever she needed to…"

"I haven't." Bri braided her hair off to the side as she heard the pitter patter of tiny feet approaching them. "There's my monkey!"

"I'm here!" Monica jumped over the back of the sofa, landing perfectly between Bri and Esai. "Who are you?"

"I'm Esai, who are you?" He smirked at the little version of Brianna. "You look a whole lot like Bri…"

"She's my aunt." The tiny brunette smirked. "I'm Monica."

"Nice to meet you." He smiled at her. "Pretty name for a pretty girl."

"So smooth." Nik scoffed as she walked into the room, this time wearing leggings and a hoody. "I'm thinking this is a second chance at a first impression." She smiled at Esai before looking at the two brunettes. "I'm Nikola but you can call me Nik."

Esai eyed her. "Nice to meet you… I was just telling Bri how gorgeous you were."

The blonde smirked. "Why don't we go into the kitchen and grab a coffee then you can tell me how gorgeous I am."

* * *

Bri looked at the brunette sitting across from her on the plush pink carpet, dolls in her lap as they tried their best to play tea party. She was nervous, she didn't want to be having this conversation with Monica… Hell she would have rather been getting her perfectly good teeth yanked out without novacaine. "Monica…"

The six year old looked up at the woman and smiled, flashing her new gapped smile. "Yeah? Do you not want to play anymore?"

"I do baby but I have something to talk to you about… It's very important, can you listen to me talk for a second, yeah?" She wiped her hands on the carpet and sighed. "It's about your mommy…"

"What about her?" Monica was now fully interested in the conversation, she set her doll aside and scooched closer to Bri.

"You know how people always tell us we look a lot alike?" Bri began before stopping briefly to gauge the look on the girl's face.

"Yeah! We do look alike, except I have green eyes." She pushed her curly brown hair out of her face and nodded.

"Well my dear, it's because I'm your real mommy." The brunette sighed as she pulled a picture album from behind her back. "I'm not your aunt Monica but I'm your mom…"

Monica shook her head. "So, you're my mommy? Not my other mommy?"

"Yes, I'm your mommy." She smiled at the little girl. "See, this is a picture of me when I was pregnant with you."

"So why did I have the other mommy?" The six year old looked at the picture and flashed a small smile before setting it back down.

Bri smiled. "She was your mommy because she wanted to be your mommy while I was going to school… I always saw you though, I always bought you gifts, I've taken care of you so much… You're the love of my life Monica… I wanted to always tell you that you were my daughter and that I was your mom but I didn't know how… Do you understand?"

Monica nodded. "You are a better mommy than the other one… I don't see why I needed another one." She furrowed her brow as she looked at another picture, one of a smiling Bri holding a baby. "Is this me?" She ran a small finger over the picture and smiled at it. "I look so funny!"

"It's you… Most babies look funny but I thought you were gorgeous… I didn't want to leave you or let you go." Bri wiped the tears from her eyes and frowned. "I'm so sorry Monica, I shouldn't have ever let her have you… I should have kept you with me while I tried to finish school."

The tiny brunette frowned before moving towards the crying woman. "It's okay." She gave Bri a quick kiss. "I always wanted you to be my mommy anyways." She hugged Bri's neck and snuggled into her lap. "Can I go see my Happy?"

Bri shook her head. "I'd like it if you stayed here with me tonight Monica… We can have mommy and daughter time… I can do your hair all nice, put some lipstick on you, cuddle you all tight and kiss your gorgeous face."

"I want to tell Happy about this." She looked at her mom and shrugged. "Can I tell Happy tomorrow then?"

Bri nodded her head. "Yes, you can tell Happy… Why do you want to tell him?"

Monica frowned. "He's my best friend and I want him to know that you're my mommy… He can never be mean again to you! I will kick his ass!"

The brunette nodded and finished wiping away her tears as she smiled at her daughter. "Monica Elizaveta, you can't say ass, say butt or booty." She hugged her tightly. "I thought you were going to be mad at me!"

"Why?" She furrowed her brows. "I don't remember my other mommy but I always remember you, all the time!"

"Because I didn't tell you sooner… It's why I love you so much and always want to take care of you and give you kisses and hugs… You're my life Monica, way more important than anyone else will ever be." Bri smiled and kissed Monica on the nose. "I want you to know that, alright? I love you way more than I love furs!" She smiled as Monica nodded and laced her fingers through hers.

Monica smiled. "I get to call you mommy now?"

"If you want to baby." The brunette nodded. "Only if you want to…"

"I want to." She smirked. "You're my mommy and I'm your monkey!"

"That you are." Bri laughed.

Monica nodded. "I want to still see Happy, can we stop by for a little bit?"

Bri nodded, feeling her heart break a little at the request. "Yeah, we can go see him for a little bit Monica. I'm sure he'll love to see you."

**SOA**

Brianna frowned as she held Monica's hand as they walked up the all too familiar stairs that led to Jacey and Happy's apartment. This time is felt weird, instead of walking with her niece, she was now walking with her daughter. A daughter who wanted to spend a few moments with a biker than with her. "You sure you want to talk to him now? We can always leave and come back tomorrow."

"I'm sure." Monica nodded as they stepped in front of the door. "He's my best friend and I want to tell him that you're my mommy." She smiled up at the brunette. "Why don't I have your grey eyes?"

The vixen shrugged. "Because your dad had green eyes my dear, that's a story for another day though." She rang the doorbell, hoping she didn't look like she'd been crying for twenty minutes straight on the car ride over.

Happy slowly opened the apartment door, his eyes taking in the two brunettes standing in front of him, both dressed in the same outfit, just different colors. "I'll get Jacey, is she expecting you two?"

Bri shook her head. "Remember that thing we had a talk about?" She pointed towards Monica. "Well, I talked."

Monica looked between the two adults. "Happy, you'll never guess what!" She moved towards the man, holding her arms up so he would pick her up.

"She stayin here?" He looked at Bri and gave her one nod. "Why don't you talk to Jacey, while I play the guessing game with Moni…"

Bri shook her head. "I told her she only has a little while to talk to you… I'm going to be out here, enjoying the air. I don't want to be inside."

Happy grabbed Bri's arm and yanked her inside with him and Monica. "Go, talk to her… She needs to know as well… I'll entertain Monica." He pushed her softly towards the hallway before walking to the living room and sitting down with the six year old still wrapped around him. "So, what's up? Why'd you make her drive you over when she's all sad?"

Monica frowned at him and shrugged. "She said she's my mommy!"

"What?!" He feigned surprise. "How does that make you feel?"

"I feel happy but sad!" She pouted as she looked at the tattoos on his arm. "I have a mommy again but I still miss my other mommy sometimes."

Happy nodded. "It's okay to miss your other mommy but you gotta remember who was around for you when your other mommy wasn't? It was Bri right? She's always taking care of you, making sure you get everything you need."

"Yes." She wiped at her eyes. "I don't want her to leave me like my other mommy did."

He pulled Monica in close to him, hugging her to his chest as he listened to her cry, his heart softening with each moment. "She's not going to leave you, Bri is going to be there for you always, if she's not I'll kick her right in her big ol' booty."

Monica giggled. "She does have a big booty." She rubbed her eyes with her fists and rested her head back against Happy's shoulder. "I don't want her to leave me again…"

Happy sighed and rubbed the girl's back, feeling bad that she was so young but was hurting so much already. "Like I said, she ain't gonna leave you again… I'll make sure of that… I want you to always know that whenever you need some time away from her, you're always welcome to come and hang out with me Jacey and the baby whenever it gets here."

She leaned back and nodded at him. "Yeah? Can I hold the baby too?"

"You're gonna have to ask Jacey if you can." He smiled at her before wiping her face clean with his tank top. "You good now kid? Or do you need to cry some more?"

"I'm good." Monica nodded at him as she smiled at him. "You have to be really nice to her now, she's sensitive."

Happy nodded. "I'll play nice, I promise."

.

.

.

.

"So, yeah… I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just never thought I'd have to tell anyone about Monica actually being mine." Bri wiped her eyes as she watched Jacey rid herself of her own tears. "I hope you don't hate me for not telling you until now…"

Jacey nodded. "It's okay, I don't hate you for not telling me… I kind of always assumed there was something more to it because of the way you always want to protect the girl… Plus, this makes the whole knowledge of pregnancy shit make more sense."

"Yeah… I think everyone knew but was too kind to say shit except Happy. He kept saying _your_ kid when he referred to her… To kick me in the ribs, Moni wanted to see Happy right after I told her… That hurt my soul to be honest but I'm good now." The brunette sighed. "I should get going though, I actually have to work tomorrow, believe it or not… I've been working in the ER, plastic surgery… You should see what being sent through a windshield does to a face better yet, you should see what happens to a face that's been grated on the highway after being thrown from those God awful speed bikes."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I didn't need those images in my head asshole!" She tossed a pillow at Bri before ducking as it was sent right back.

"I love you Jacey!" Bri blew her a kiss. "Get some sleep and make sure you're not just eating any old thing my dear." The brunette smiled as she walked into the living room, smiling as she watched Happy and Monica make faces at each other. "Alright monkey, let's go… Thanks for talking to her Happy, I appreciate it… I promise we'll try to do better with not invading your space without a call first."

Happy nodded. "It's fine, I like the kid… Be safe."

"We will." Monica gave Happy a kiss on the forehead before moving to her mom. "Come on mommy let's go." She grabbed Bri's thumb as they walked towards the front door.

"After you my love." Bri smiled at the little girl. "You want to grab a sweet tea before we go home baby?" She picked up the girl as they walked down the stairs slowly. Her mind finally feeling at ease, all her secrets were now out and in the open. The only person she had to tell now was her boyfriend.

* * *

**So like always, let me know what you thought.**


	20. Chapter 20 Truth and Princesses

Juice pulled Bri onto his lap as he looked at his laptop. "What's with all these damn tattoos?" He smirked against her back as he trailed his fingers up and down the fresh colored ink on her left arm. "I liked it better when it didn't have colors…"

"Yeah well I liked you better without tattoos…" She moved off his lap and smiled at him. "I got some shit I need to talk with you about. It's serious Juan."

He paused and stared at her, knowing it must be important if she called him Juan. "Uh oh, I get your gorgeous ass pregnant already?"

Bri rolled her eyes. "You wish… It's about Monica."

"You finally gonna admit that she's actually yours?" Juice smiled at her. "It's not hard to figure out Bri… She looks exactly like you, I spent hours in your house when we were younger, your baby pictures plastered every fucking where… Only difference between the two of you is the eye color and the slight personality flaws. You tend to befriend everyone without caution and she's on the cautious side… Unless you're Happy or Jax."

"Shit, it's that obvious?" She frowned and let him pull her back onto his lap. "I guess she wasn't my best kept secret after all… You're not mad right?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not mad at you… Sort of jealous that another man beat me to it though but you know I'll love her just as much as I love you, even though she won't give me the time of day to befriend her."

Bri kissed his nose and smiled. "You'll get your turn if we keep going on the track we're on Juicy. She'll befriend you, it'll take some time because unlike the other two you're after attention from me and she doesn't like to share."

"I could have sworn Jax was after your attention for a little while…" Juice rolled his eyes and squeezed his girlfriend's sides. "Don't glare at me like that babe, I'm messing with you."

The brunette sighed. "That whole Jax thing was terrible… I could tell his mom wanted nothing more than to scalp me… Then the whole pregnant wife thing to boot! He's a scumbag, why would any woman put up with his shit? He cheated on one, he'll cheat on them all." She examined the ends of her hair for split ends.

"You added to his recklessness." He pinched her cheeks. "You're a bad girl."

"Shit, I am not! Jax sweet talked me, he flashed that stupid lopsided smirk and I was like damn, I have to hit that at least once before I die." Bri chuckled. "You brought up this conversation so don't look at me like that _babe_."

"Are you saying his smile is better than mine?" The young man flashed a huge smile at his girlfriend.

She shook her head. "No one has a better smile than you… Jax has a _smirk_… Your smirk is pretty damn cute though." She kissed the side of his head before standing up. "I am going to change and start getting ready to go wherever it is that you're taking me… You said jeans and a shirt right?"

"Yup, jeans and a shirt, sneakers not heels and definitely not those sneakers that are actually heels… That's just fucking weird." He pointed at the shoes she was currently wearing. "I'll hide all of those one of these damn days."

"Oh hush, these are one of my favorite pairs… Makes me taller." She shrugged.

Juice furrowed his brow. "You're like fucking six feet tall already, you don't need any extra inches babe."

**SOA**

"Seriously?" Bri looked around at the building they were standing in front of. "What the fuck is this Juice?"

He shrugged, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the front door of the abandoned warehouse. "It's fun Bri… It's going to be fun, it's going to be messy, it's going to relax you and make you forget about everything for a little bit."

"Is this gonna be like that time where I dropped acid and Svetlana gave me loads of paint and I woke up to some trippy ass masterpiece I had painted? If it is, I'll have to advise against it because doctors get random drug tests sometimes but they don't ever test us for alcohol… Awkward right?" She shrugged as she walked in the building after her boyfriend.

"First of all, you shouldn't do acid." He rested hand on her hip and shrugged. "We're going to break shit, then we're going to thank each other after we realize how much this is going to save us in therapy costs."

Bri turned, looking at the man like he was insane. "You brought me on a date here? To destroy shit so I don't have to go to therapy?"

"Pretty much." He slipped a pair of safety goggles on her face. "I know you were saying that Aleksandr wants you to go to rehab and everything but maybe this will help take the edge off and whatnot for a little while at least baby."

"I haven't been drinking lately… I think I've finally gotten my demons settled." She picked up a sledgehammer and smiled at the weight of it in her hands. "You could have at least told me to wear dark denim and not white babe." She swung the hammer, sending it into a glass window, smiling as the window shattered into hundreds of little pieces. "Yeah, glass is dangerous."

Juice nodded as he admired the view of Bri busting up old tables with the tool, her shirt inching up in the back, showing off bare skin, skin he wanted nothing more to adorn with a tattoo that marked her as belonging to him. He was tired of seeing another man's mark on her back, hated the thought of knowing someone had her and staked his claim. He was fine with the hook ups but the knowledge of her being married and now the fact that she had a kid with him, it was driving him insane. He wanted everyone to know she belonged to him and only him. "You look sexy when you're being destructive."

"This is actually fun." Bri dropped the sledgehammer to the ground. "What's this place going to be anyways? I feel like it should be some type of clubhouse or whatever." She looked around and pointed up at the ceiling. "Yeah, definitely some type of clubhouse, I love the exposed metal work… I could see the Russian's hanging out around here… This place for sale?"

"I think so." He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her to him. "I've been thinking about shit Brianna…"

She paused, resting her hands on his chest. "What's wrong babe?"

His hands snaked up the back of her shirt, rubbing over the familiar tattoo. "I know it's not my place to speak on it but I want this tattoo off you… It makes me pissed to see it on you, knowing that you didn't want it but were forced to get it."

Bri shook her head. "Believe me when I say, I've tried to get it removed babe… It's just too damn big. I'm looking for an artist to cover it up or something." She ran her thumbs over his jawline. "It'll be fine love."

Juice nodded and wrapped his arms around the beauty's neck as he kissed her lips and smiled. "You know Happy could cover that right up… Just so you know."

"Ugh, I've been trying to avoid asking him to do it… We're like friends I guess but still, with pregnant Jacey… She may just take off my head, her hormones have her going haywire sometimes." She smirked at him. "So, you want to check fucking in an abandoned office off our to-do list?"

"Yeah I do." He smiled brightly at her.

**Oakland**

"Strippers!" Nik yelled as they walked into the club. "I want to see strippers and I want lap dances!"

Bri rolled her eyes. "We're not breaking that whole stereotype of Russians loving stripclubs… Was this necessary?" She turned her gaze on the young man at her side. "Huh Esai? You had to pick a strip club."

He nodded as he draped an arm over each of the brunette's shoulders. "This is going to be fun, you'll meet more of the Mayans, the one's that don't come to town too often."

"When I told my boyfriend I was going out, I didn't think I'd end up meeting Mayans, E… I cannot be here, I'm dating a Son." She poked his side. "Juice will freak out if he finds out I was yucking it up with his rival MC…"

"It's fine Brianna." He lead her to the table and sat her down. "Have some fun… This is the place a Russian should be!"

Bri shook her head, watching her sister take a seat on Esai's lap. "This is going to go horribly wrong, I can feel it…" She waved off the scantily clad waitress who was offering her a drink. "If I get in trouble, you two are going down with me…"

"Lighten up B!" Nik smiled at her older sister. "Just have some fun, look they even have your favorite type of stripper… The one's with the fake tits that need to be fixed… Potential clients my dear."

"She's right Bri!" Esai shouted over the music. "Network! Let them know that you're a surgeon and can fix them right up."

She sighed, pulling her cash from her purse as the girl on the stage in front of them started to dance. "At least she's sort of pretty." She tossed a few bills as the girl dropped her top to the ground.

"You're not doin' that shit right…" A voice rasped in Bri's ear causing her to whip around. "Didn't mean to scare you girl…"

"Who are you?" She examined the man's face, her eyes landing on his mouth full of platinum teeth.

He smiled at her. "The name's Fiasco… You are?"

"Bri." She smiled back at him, scooting over to let him set down next to her. "You come here often or what?"

He shrugged. "You trying to holla at me or what?"

"I'm just trying to get to know you… I can always use new friends." She smiled at him. "So, you gonna show me the proper way to toss money at these dancers or what? I'm not about to touch them so don't even suggest that."

Fiasco grabbed her arm and tugged her towards the stage where the next girl was starting to dance. "You ain't gotta touch 'em, you just gotta show 'em you like what you see." He tucked a bill in the woman's garter before looking back at the brunette.

Bri rolled her eyes as she tossed a handful of bills at the woman. "I think she has character but I don't like her body, not my type." She shrugged as Fiasco covered his face and stifled a chuckle. "I got the banger to laugh…"

He nodded. "You were at the wedding huh?"

"Yeah and at the party and all that shit." She shrugged and looked at him. "Why? Do I have some terrible reputation?"

"Rumor has it that you slept with Dani _and_ Antonio." He shrugged his shoulders.

Bri socked him in the arm. "I didn't sleep with Antonio and I was friends with Daniela… Who started that shitty ass rumor?" She rolled her eyes before moving back to sit down, propping her legs up on the small table before her as she watched the women strip, her mind drifting off to Juice who was probably sitting in her bed on his laptop and smoking weed.

**SOA**

Bri tossed away her heels as she entered her bedroom, groaning as she looked at the clock before pulling her dress over her head and slipping off her bra as she walked to the bed. She quickly slipped in next to Juice who was snoring softly.

"You're home…" Juice mumbled groggily as she hugged the brunette to his chest. "I wasn't expecting you to come back at all."

"It wasn't fun." She yawned before placing a kiss to his chest. "I missed you babe."

"What'd you do anyways?" He rubbed her shoulder as he felt her start to drift to sleep.

She yawned again. "We went to this lousy strip club… It was awkward and I know us Russians have a reputation of enjoying them but this one wasn't too fun. I didn't enjoy it, so many fake tits and weird looking vaginas… They all needed my business card but I only had a dozen on me tonight."

He let out a sleepy chuckle before yawning. "Let's go to sleep babe… I love you."

"I love you too." Bri snuggled up to him, draping a leg over his body as she closed her eyes and listened to him breathe.

**SOA**

Juice walked out to the backyard, halting as he took in the sight of Bri sitting at the patio table, men in suits seated with her. He crossed his arms watching the exchange with a confused look when he felt a tug on his shirt.

"Juice!" Monica smiled up at him. "You want to play tea party princesses with me?"

He nodded, allowing the little girl to lead him back into the house. "How do I play tea party princesses though?"

The brunette sat him down at her purple table. "You just eat tea and cookies with me and my princess friends." She pointed at the dolls wearing tiaras. "You get a crown though, boys can't have tiaras." She sat the red felt and gold crown on the man's head before sitting down and putting on a tiara of her own. "So, Sir Juice, would you like some tea?"

"Yes Princess." He smiled as she filled his pink cup with tea. "What kind of tea is this?"

"Ingrid made it, it's peach tea with mango." She shrugged before take a sip of her tea. "It's yummy… I'll introduce you to the princesses. The blonde is Britney, princess of Union City, the brunette is Bridgette, princess of San Jose, the red head is Jessica, princess of San Francisco."

Juice smiled. "You really know your cities huh? What're you princess of then Monica?"

"I'm princess of all of Oakland." Monica smiled. "You can be Prince of Charming for the tea party, usually that's Jax but lately his mom hasn't let him come over to have tea parties with me… So I think you and I need to be friends."

He nodded. "So, we're friends because Jax can't hang out?"

"I want to try to be your friend because my mommy loves you." She flipped her brown hair over her shoulder and shrugged.

Juice chuckled, the little girl reminding him even more of Brianna than ever before. "You know, when she was fifteen, she made me go to this tea party thing, I hated it because I had to wear a suit and not my leather jacket."

"You knew her when she was little?" Monica looked at him, her eyes big and bright. "I didn't know that!"

He nodded, finally happy that he was being given a chance by the six year old. "Yeah, when she was a teenager and she used to come to school in her fur coats and matching hats… She was cool, made all the other girls mad at her."

She nodded. "I love her in furs… What else? Did she go to dances and stuff?" She leaned closer to him and smiled.

"Yeah, she won a few times at dances, prom queen, homecoming queen, a few winter ball princess titles." He smiled. "She was always smiling and dancing around, it was a good thing because sometimes her dad would yell at her and then she'd still come to school laughing and smiling… Everyone loved that about her."

"Grandpa Viktor!" Monica crinkled up her face. "He was such a meanie face Juan!"

Juice laughed. "You're going to be like Bri and call me Juan now too? Yeah, Viktor was a meanie face wasn't he? He tried to beat me up once for making Bri sad but Aleksandr, he actually chased me all the way back home one time because I made her sad… I never want to be chased again, so I'm going to keep her happy."

"You better or I'll kick your ass." She glared at him before smirking. "I mean it to! I'll kick your ass and make you cry, I'm learning stuff in kickboxing."

"How about you stop saying ass Monica!" Aleksandr boomed from his spot in the doorway. "If I hear you say it again, I'll grab the belt, do you want that to happen again my dear?"

"No grandpa." Monica shook her head. "I'm sorry, do you want to play tea party princesses with us? I have your favorite flavor of tea, Ingrid made it for me."

He nodded, moving to take a seat next to Monica. "Hello, princesses." He smiled at the dolls before turning his attention to Juice. "Juan, you and I are going to have a serious talk very, very soon."

Juice nodded. "Yeah, I'm down for that talk." He smiled at the man before awkwardly sipping his tea, his mind becoming full of concern. He was doing good by Bri now but knew Aleksandr still had some choice words for him. "It'll be good to get everything out in the open."

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**Sorry for the delay in updates. I promise I'll try to get better. As always thank you to everyone who takes the time out to shoot me a review, they're appreciated, you're appreciated. (:**


	21. Chapter 21 Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

**September 7, 2008**

Juice wiped his palms on his jeans as he sat across the table from Aleksandr, he had been working on his laptop when the large Russian sat down across from him and closed his laptop. It was time, it was time for the talk and he was nervous as hell for it. He had no idea what would come of it but he hoped it wouldn't be something bad. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about you being back in the picture." Aleksandr crossed his arms and glared at the smaller man. "Do I need to warn you about what will happen if you make her cry? I think you finding me in your house was warning enough but I'll be happy to threaten to put a bullet between your eyes…" He smirked at Juice.

"I don't need another warning and I told you before I have no intention to hurt Bri… At all. I love her, I'm in love with her and all I want is to be with her and have a family with her." He rubbed his forehead and looked at the man. "I'm giving you my word, man to man, that I have no plans on hurting her."

The man nodded and sighed. "It's not about hurting her, it's about you being able to handle the responsibilities that now come with being with Brianna… She's not who she was a decade ago Juan, she's the head of the Family, if you were to marry her, it'd be you taking over the responsibilities that she has. When you see her sitting out and chatting up a group of Russian men, she's handling business. I need you to think long and hard about this, if you were to marry her would you be able to run the family business… Both the legal and illegal parts."

Juice nodded, he hadn't even thought about the aspect of being head of anything, up until this point in life, he'd always been told what to do and how to do it. "I think I can handle it… All of it, I may need some guidance at first but I could really do it all." He smiled at Aleksandr and nodded his head eagerly. "I am ready for all the responsibilities that come along with Bri and this family."

Aleksandr rubbed his temples. "I'm going to give you a task…" He pulled an envelope from his suit pocket and passed it to Juice. "If you can complete that task, then I'll be good with letting you take over for Bri, in the event that you fail but you still want to marry my daughter… You'll be taking her last name, she won't be taking yours. You get that?" He stood up looking at the man once more before leaving the kitchen.

He watched Aleksandr stomp out of the french doors before he tore open the envelope, his eyes moving over the paper before he read. "Here's your mark, you'll find what you need in the garage, get it done." He tucked the paper into his kutte before standing up from the table.

"Babe." Bri wrapped her arms around his waist. "What's up my love?"

"I'm about to go handle some things." Juice turned around and rested his hands on the woman's hips and squeezed tightly. "What're you about to do?"

"I was gonna invite you to come to lunch with me and the girls." The brunette kissed her boyfriend's neck and smiled. "I don't want you to put your plans on hold to come out with us though babe."

"I can put them off for two hours." He smirked at her before backing her against the counter. "So, where are we going to lunch at? You three manage to find some Russian restaurant yet babe?" He brushed her hair out of her face and started to dot her face with feather light kisses.

Bri shrugged. "We're going to some pizza spot that Svetlana found, you get to build your own pizza at the table, using some tablet or whatever… It's two of your favorite things pizza and technology… I bet they'll even let you put all that healthy junk on your pizza." She moved her hands under his shirt and rubbed her thumbs over his abs and smiled.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked at her. "Kale on a pizza?"

"Whatever floats your boat Juan." She smiled at him. "Let's go babe… I am starving and the girls are already on the way to the pizza place."

He shook his head, pinning her to the counter by her hips. "I think they can wait… We can be fashionably late babe." He snaked his hands under the skirt of the dress she was wearing and smirked at her. "Late or on time babe?"

"Late…" She mumbled. "We can be late."

**SOA**

"Sorry." Bri slid into the booth across from her best friend Svetlana and her sister Nik. "Sorry, we're late." She flashed the two women a smile as Juice took a seat next to her.

"It's fine." Nik smirked at her older sister, knowing exactly why the couple was late to lunch. "Everyone needs a little pre-lunch fun."

"Shush… Did you guys order already?" The brunette looked at the tablet before sliding it to Juice. "Babe, make me a pizza, I want it to be as unhealthy as possible… I need to carb load or something… I feel weird."

"You need to drink some water… Haven't you been following doctor's orders?" Svetlana passed her friend her ice water. "Nothing is better than ice water."

"What orders? What's wrong?" Juice paused from starting his order to look at his girlfriend. "When did you go to the doctor?"

Bri shrugged. "I've been feeling a lot lightheaded and nauseous so I went to the doctor and he took my blood and recommended I stay hydrated. It's not a big deal, that's why I didn't bug you with the details." She kissed his cheek and smiled. "I'm just dehydrated and stressed, that's all there is too it."

He frowned at her. "Sounds serious… I want you to tell me these things, regardless if you think it's no big deal, I want to know." He squeezed her knee before turning his attention back to the tablet to order.

"Bri, Esai and I are over already." Nik frowned at her sister, dragging her fingers through her blonde hair. "He still seems to be hung up on an ex or some shit.. Like even during sex, he seemed preoccupied."

Bri blinked at her. "Yeah, I should have told you… He's Jacey's ex boyfriend and he sort of still is in love with her… A lot of still in love with her. I just didn't want to ruin either of you guy's having fun."

The blonde flicked her sister's nose. "Bitch… I wouldn't have even went after him if I had known he was _her_ ex… Brianna!"

"He's a cool ass dude, I thought you'd be able to get his mind off of her to be honest." She shrugged her shoulders. "I need you to be nice right now, we're in public."

Nik rolled her eyes. "I'm always nice… I just need to find a new toy to play with now that Esai is off the table… You and Kozik over for real? I saw the way he looked at you."

Bri scoffed. "Yeah, we're not even friends… He's an asshole and I don't think you should even bother with him." She ran her fingers through her hair before resting her head on Juice's shoulder and sighing. "I think you should look into the Mayans camp for a toy or hell get involved with Svet…"

Svet looked up from the tablet. "Are you really trying to set me and Nik up right now? Stop that right now… We don't need help with dating Bri…"

"I'd date you." Nik looked at Svet and smirked. "I'd date you so hard."

"I don't even know why I agreed." Juice shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I'll be right back, I'm going to check in with Jax, see if he needs me for anything."

"Alright babe." Bri smiled at her boyfriend before looking at the two women. "If you two start dating, omg, I wouldn't even know how to contain myself! We could double date, like we're doing right now!"

Svetlana nodded. "I can't believe that we're having this conversation in public, when it should really be in private." She smirked at the girls. "I want to talk more seriously about this though, you two know I'm picky when it comes to dating."

"I get it." Nik smiled at her. "We should totally have a sleepover soon, all three of us and maybe Moni and Jacey."

"That'd be fun, you can see how Moni and Jacey argue over who Happy likes more." Bri chuckled as the pizzas were set in front of her. "Ew, Juice put his healthy half on my damn pizza!" She pointed to the half of the pizza that was covered with green stuff and veggies. "I can't believe this shit."

Juice slid back into the booth, draping an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "I see the pizza is here… It looks good." He grabbed a slice of his half and took a bite out of it. "It's so good."

"I don't see how you want to eat _that_ healthy… What happened to the kid who used to eat a whole medium pizza alone?" She grabbed a slice of her pizza and took a bite before she looked at him and smirked. "Don't you want some real pizza? Sauce and meat… Look how good this pepperoni looks!"

He eyed the pizza in the brunette's hand before taking a big bite of it. "It's so good, I feel like I just took five years of my life away with that bite…"

"So dramatic." Svetlana looked at the young man. "My great grandfather lived to ninety-nine… He ate junk all the time, he died while giving it to a bitch one third his age."

"Great Grandpa Igor was a player! The Hugh Hefner of Russia." Bri laughed. "He always had different women on his arms and they all wanted to be his wife and inherit the family fortune… He played them all… Svet ended up with the millions."

"Oh yes, all the millions are mine." Svet chuckled as she pulled pepperoni off her pizza and stacked them up. "I plan to invest them turn them to billions."

"I could help you with investing, I have myself a nice investment system." Juice smiled at the brunette. "It's not too hard to get it started."

"Awesome… I'm down to learn how to invest." She nodded. "I can give you a million to play around with, see how much you can make off of it."

"A million?" Juice set his pizza back down and looked at the young woman. "I think that's a bit much, don't you think?"

Svetlana shook her head. "No, I think it's perfect. I'll set you up with the account information when we get back to the house. I look forward to seeing what you can do, if you play your cards right, I just may hire you to maintain my stock or whatever."

"I'm down to be your broker." He nodded his head. "It'll be fun."

**September 9, 2008**

Bri patted her face dry as she walked to the front door, the doorbell had been ringing incessantly since she rushed to rinse herself off in the shower. Of course it was the day that everyone had decided to leave the house, meaning she was home alone until Juice arrived in a few hours. "I'm coming!" She unlocked the door not even bothering to look at the security camera or through the peephole as she pulled it open.

"I still have a standing invitation right?" The guest smiled at Bri.

"Yeah, yeah, come in." The brunette stepped inside and locked the door behind her. "What's wrong? You look like you've been crying Dani…"

Dani nodded, wrapping her arms around the brunette, despite her big belly. "I haven't been right since we talked at the wedding…"

Bri frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that Daniela… You want some water or juice?" She pointed towards the kitchen. "I know you know this place like the back of your hand."

"Yeah." The curly haired brunette moved forward towards the kitchen. "You've remodeled it? I love it." She ran her hands over the the dark granite countertops and smile.

"Yeah, it just came to me one night and I made it happen." The pulled open the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and a bottle of orange juice. "How's married life treating you so far?"

Dani groaned as she twisted off the cap of the orange juice. "It's alright so far… I'm not going to complain about it… I talked to my dad finally, so that's something positive but I told him I'd try to stay in the marriage at least until the baby is born… So, I have help and everything."

"That's understandable." Bri nodded as she lifted herself onto the counter and grabbed the container of candy she kept on the counter for Monica. "Feels good to have finally told him everything though, huh?" She eyed the security monitor nestled in the corner of the counter, taking notice of Aleksandr pacing the driveway while talking on his phone.

"It felt so fucking good, I swear it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders." The brunette smiled as she set her bottle of juice down. "So, how are things with you and Juan? Is it working out for you?"

"It's going pretty damn well so far, it's not perfect and I don't expect it to be… It's just fun and cute right now." Bri smiled at the thought of Juan. "I can't complain about it or anything." She shrugged her shoulders as she heard the front door open and close before tiny tapping footsteps grew closer.

"Mommy!" Monica ran to Bri and lifted her arms. "I had a bad day! The teacher was so mean and I cried so grandpa had to get me and he yelled at the teacher!"

Bri lifted the tiny brunette up on the counter next to her. "Is that so? What'd this teacher say to you my dear?"

"He said I was dancing like a blind dog!" She wiped at her eyes as she looked at Dani who was rubbing her belly. "Why's she here?"

"She's here to talk to me." She ran her hand over Monica's hair before pulling of the young girl's tap shoes. "You wanna go upstairs and change into sweats and a shirt? Then come back down and we'll figure out what we want for dinner… I love you monkey."

"I love you too." Monica hopped down from the counter, her green eyes looking at Dani before leaving the kitchen.

"She's adorable… You finally owning up to the fact that she's your kid?" Dani smirked at Bri. "I'm proud of you babe…"

"Thanks." Bri nodded before sliding off the counter as she heard the door open again. "Damn, now everyone wants to start coming home… Fuck me."

"Bri!" Juice walked into the kitchen, pausing as he noticed the pregnant brunette.

"Hey baby." Bri moved to Juice, wrapping her arms around his neck before kissing him. "I thought you weren't going to be back until later."

"I finished my business early." He kissed her back before eyeing the curly haired woman.

"Juan, this is Daniela, Daniela this is Juan." She smiled at both of them. "She stopped by to talk… She's also staying for dinner."

Dani's eyes went wide. "No, I don't think I should stay for dinner. I don't want to impose or anything Brianna."

"Nonsense, you're staying… We have more than enough room." Bri smiled.

"Alright." She smiled back at Bri before casting Juice a wary glance. "Let me just step outside and call 'Toni, let him know I won't be home for dinner."

"Sounds good." Bri watched as Dani moved outside to the back patio before looking back at her boyfriend. "She's in a bad place, I couldn't send her home just yet…"

Juice nodded. "It's alright." He shrugged as he looked at the brunette on the patio, knowing that it would be an awkward dinner. Sitting with Bri's ex and most of all watching them interact. "I'm going to take a shower… I'll be down for dinner." He kissed her temple before leaving the room, trying his best to keep his composure.

**To Be Continued...**

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**Let me know what you thought.**


	22. Chapter 22 Romanian Garage

Juice slowly walked down the stairs, shaking his head as he went, he was still trying to process the fact that his girlfriend had invited her married, pregnant ex-girlfriend to stay for dinner. It was something he hadn't wanted to deal with, hell he had tried to find an excuse in the shower to duck out of having to sit at the table with Daniela. He knew the woman still had feelings for Bri and that was something that just didn't sit right with him. "Hey Moni." He smiled at the tiny brunette that was laying at the bottom of the stairs, her legs propped up on Monster as she sang the dog a song.

"Me and Monster were waiting for you." Monica tilted her head back and smiled up at Juice. "We wanted to see if you'd swing with us after dinner."

"Of course I will." He smiled at her again as he helped her to her feet. "So, are we best friends yet?"

The brunette shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we can be best friends! I need a new one anyway, my imaginary best friend, she's lost, I cannot find her anywhere at all, I'm scared she is stuck at tap class." She pouted as they walked into the dining room.

"We can always stop by when it's closed to see if we can get her back for you." He chuckled as he walked her to her seat. "If anything, she's probably sitting out front waiting for you to come back and get her…"

"Oh no!" Monica shook her head. "You think she's out there all alone?"

"We'll go get her after dinner." He winked at her. "She'll be fine, it's not too cold outside and everyone forgets their friends sometimes." He shrugged before taking a seat right next to her as Daniela and Brianna filed in, followed by Aleksandra, Elijah, Igor, and Eric.

"We have a full table tonight." Bri kissed Juice's cheek as she sat down. "Good thing me and Monica ordered so much take out… I know you don't like it so I got you healthy options from the places we ordered from… Is that good with you Mr. Health Freak?"

Juice nodded and squeezed her knee. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd get anything healthy for me."

"Of course I would, I may give you a hard time about all that green stuff you eat but if it makes you feel good, then I'll support it." She smiled at him. "Everyone can help themselves…"

"You should try eating more green stuff in your diet babe." He rubbed her back as he grabbed the food with his name on it. "It's not all nasty you know?"

"I know babe, I get on health kicks from time to time but I never stick with them… I rather eat what I want and work out." She shrugged as she reached for a container of orange chicken. "It's the weirdest most unnatural color but it's so damn good."

Juice scrunched up his face at the bright orange chicken the brunette piled on her plate before looking around the table. "Daniela doesn't look too comfortable…" He whispered against Bri's neck before kissing her in the same spot.

"Dani, have you picked out a name for your son yet?" Bri smiled at her ex girlfriend. "If not, I'm thinking you need to name him Aleksandr!"

Dani laughed and shook her head. "I picked out a name but I'm not telling anyone until he's born." She smiled. "I'll keep Aleksandr in mind though, maybe a middle name."

"That'd be the day." Aleksandr smirked at the brunette. "I wish you were that considerate Brianna…"

"I am that considerate… I just suggested she name her son after you… If I ever have a son, I'm going to give him your last name as his middle name, it'll be so badass." Bri chuckled as she drizzled soy sauce over her noodles.

"No! Name him after me!" Monica trilled. "Can a boy be named Monica?"

"I don't think you should name a boy Monica, plus would you want to share your name with a brother?" Dani looked at the young girl as she helped her twirl noodles around her fork. "It'd be so confusing!"

The green eyed cutie nodded. "You're right! Don't name him after me! I want me to only have my name!"

Juice nodded. "If we have a son, I'll make sure we don't name him Monica…"

"Good." She smiled at him.

"So much baby talk…" Elijah shook his head. "My girl is too busy for another child, Monica is all that she needs until she finishes up her residency."

Igor nodded his head. "I agree, finish up what you need to then you can have all the babies that you want to have… I think you need to name a kid Igor at least."

"No, no… Name your kid Vlad the Impaler!" Daniela smiled at the brunette.

"Oh my God!" Juice laughed. "You want us to name the kid that? Come on! Little Dracula!"

Dani nodded. "It's a coo' ass name for real! Admit it!" She took a sip of her water as she watched the wheels in Juice's head begin to turn. "Ah! You're thinking about it!"

"I really am… It'd be unique as Happy!" He nodded his head and looked at Bri who was covering her face while her shoulders shook with laughter. "You're loving it!" He poked at her sides and laughed harder when she tried her best to fend him off.

"Dracula is Romanian… Not Russian." Bri panted as she tried to get away from him. "But no, I'm not naming this hypothetical child Vlad the Impaler or Dracula… Dani, don't egg Juice on or we're going to have some issues." She smirked as she narrowed her grey eyes at the curly haired young woman.

"I'm sorry but I had to throw it out there!" She shrugged. "It's a good name!"

"I'd name my kid Ragnar before I named him Vlad or Dracula… I'd want a Viking baby not a Vampire baby." The brunette ran her fingers through her messy hair before taking a long sip of her water. "Enough about the baby talk unless we're talking about people who are actually pregnant… Dani and Jacey."

"Jacey is having a girl. I'm excited." Monica smiled as she tried her hardest to attempt to use her chopsticks. "She'll be like my little cousin."

"I'm excited to annoy Happy and try to dress the little girl in a baby fur coat." Bri pushed her plate of food away and sighed. "Happy is my best friend now…. He'll deny it until he dies but he knows in his heart that I'm his favorite grey eyed Russian."

Juice rolled his eyes. "I don't think you're his favorite anything… I think he's still just being nice for Jacey's sake…"

"You're such a hater…" Bri pinched the man's cheeks. "Happy and I have connected on a deep level… We've done some cool secret things together."

He shook his head and smirked. "I believe you babe." He rubbed her lower back. "You look unusually pale Bri…"

"I feel pale." She took in a deep breath before standing up. "I'll be right back…"

Juice stood up, following after the brunette as she powered her way towards the nearest bathroom. "The doctor hasn't told you your test results yet?" He grabbed a washcloth out of the shelf and ran it under some cold water before pressing it to the young woman's face. "I think you have something a little more wrong with you than just dehydration or whatever bullshit your doctor said you had."

Bri shrugged. "I haven't heard anything back yet but then again it's only been two days since I've gotten the tests done anyways." She stood up slowly from the floor and sighed as she clutched the sink to look at herself in the mirror. "I look ghostly."

"You're a doctor, why haven't you run tests on yourself?" Juice moved to stand behind her, his chin resting on her shoulder as he watched her gargle mouthwash.

"I'm not considered that type of doctor, I can't run tests on myself. I'd have to ask colleague to run them for me and I don't trust most of the people at work… I trust Lucius but that's about it." She shook her head as she pressed the wet towel back to her face and sighed. "Hope whatever it is isn't too serious."

"Then what's the point of being a doctor?" He shook his head as he took the towel from her and started to wet it again. "I thought the whole Dani thing would have been awkward but she's actually pretty cool."

"I'm not a regular doctor, I'm a surgeon… I give women tits and perfect noses… I don't really care for the medicine aspect of it, I'm just here to make the world easier on the eyes, one procedure at a time." Bri shrugged. "I thought it'd be awkward but I couldn't let her leave, she's not really in a good place, it'll do her some good to be around our weird ass family, if only Nik and Svet had shown up."

"I don't think she's ready for the mess that is Nik and Svet… They would have scared her off for sure." Juice smirked as they walked out of the bathroom and back towards the dining room. "How'd you get the guys to sit down for a dinner?"

"I was like hey if you guys aren't busy, do you want to eat take out? They apparently weren't busy." She shrugged as she slipped back into her chair and smiled at the guests around the table.

"You okay?" Dani asked Bri with a faint smile.

"She's fine, all that baby naming talk made her lightheaded." Juice shook his head. "I guess she really is against naming our future kid Vlad the Impaler."

Bri rolled her eyes. "It was the idea of giving my kid a Romanian name that actually made me dizzy… The thought of that, just threw my body off whack." She laughed as she looked at Monica who was falling asleep. "Monkey, you want to go upstairs and go to bed?"

"Yeah." Monica nodded. "Igor take me to my palace!"

"Why do you always pick him?" Elijah wagged his finger at the little girl. "I see you have a favorite." He faked a pout as he crossed his arms and looked away from the girl. "I never am picked."

"I'm pretty sure you're Jacey's favorite henchman." Bri poked at the man. "You're pretty cool."

"Jacey happens to be my favorite to do detail watch on." He nodded his head and smiled. "I need to send her something for the baby!"

"I think we should all just show up to their place with gifts and freak Happy out." The brunette smiled at the men. "It'll be fun, he won't even know what to do with all the Russian and Swedish presence."

"How many of you are actually Russian?" Dani looked at the people around the table as Igor moved to grab Monica who had fallen asleep completely.

"All of us except for the lovely Eric who hails from the lovely country of Sweden… Oh and Juice, he's not Russian." Bri smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Let's all buy presents then we can all show up, even you and Juice can partake in the shenanigans."

**September 12, 2008**

"I hate doctor visits." Bri mumbled into Juice's neck as they rode the elevator up to her doctor's office. "They make me anxious…"

Juice hugged her as they exited the elevator. "For someone who's a surgeon, you sure hate everything that's medical…" He walked them into the office, never letting her go as he signed her in and then took a seat, the brunette perched on his lap. "Why you so nervous Bri?"

She shrugged a she played with the front of his kutte. "It could be bad news babe!"

"You're probably just pregnant." He smirked and watched her brows furrow. "Would that be a bad thing?"

"I don't know, we've been together like what? Two months?" She sighed. "That seems a little quick to be all knocked up right?"

Juice shrugged. "I don't think so… We've pretty much known each other for most our lives so we have a headstart in that aspect." He rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks and smiled at her. "Now, Aleksandr, Elijah and Igor may have some choice words about it if you really are pregnant… They won't be too happy."

"I'm a month from finishing my residency, so if we can keep it a secret until then, we'll be golden babe." Bri shrugged. "We just need to hear the results and not jump to a conclusion."

"My money is on you either being stressed from work or pregnant." He kissed her quickly as the nurse called her name.

"Well, I guess we're about to find out now…" The brunette stood up and grabbed her boyfriend's hand as she started towards the nurse. "Fingers crossed that it isn't too serious."

**SOA**

Bri piled her hair into a large sloppy bun as she walked through her house, the shirt she swiped from Juice, barely covered her ass as she entered the kitchen, her mind on grabbing something to soothe her dry throat as she heard movement in the garage. "I swear to God! Monster if you locked your ass in the garage again!" She sipped on her water as she moved to the door that lead from the kitchen to the garage, her eyes going wide as she looked at the scene in front of her. "Jesus fucking Christ!"

"Hey boss." The man smirked at the brunette. "Didn't mean to wake you up."

"What are you doing here and why are you doing what you're doing? This is my garage, there's a kid sleeping upstairs!" She looked at the tarps that were covering the space and frowned. "How'd you even get in here? Huh?"

He shrugged. "We chased him down in Oakland, we didn't want to drive two hours back to handle business, so we're here… You should really change the gate and security codes boss."

"Make sure it's cleaned by morning." Bri shook her head and walked back into the kitchen, knowing now that she really _had_ to change her security codes.

"You should be asleep." Juice reached the bottom of the stairs while Bri was starting up them. "You heard the doctor, you need rest and you'll be good."

She nodded. "I was thirsty then I heard a noise in the garage but it was nothing… I'm ready to go back to sleep and wake up in the morning and into work." She crawled back into bed, finding the warm spot Juice had left just moments earlier. "Now, come cuddle so I can get back to dreaming about dumb shit." She yawned as she felt his heavy arm drape over her midsection. "I love you babe."

"Love you too." He smiled as he watched her drift to sleep in the dim lit bedroom. "So much."

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**So let me know what you thought! As always I love hearing what you have to say and what you think will happen next.**


	23. Chapter 23 What

**September 13, 2008 **

Bri padded into the kitchen, her grey eyes narrowed at the group of men sitting at the kitchen table, scarfing down her food and drinking her juice. "It's nice of you guys to tell me that you're going to have Frey and his boys in town." She looked at Aleksandr who paused mid-bite. "Yeah, I stumbled in on his little activity in the garage… I get that you needed a place to butcher up the man but did it have to be my garage?" She looked at Frey who was smirking at her, his blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight pouring through the large bay window.

Frey chuckled, moving from his seat, he easily closed the gap between himself and the brunette. "Boss, it won't happen again, I was just in a pinch." She shrugged his shoulders as he pulled her into a hug. "We'll also replace all the food we eat up." He pointed towards the fridge before pulling away from the unenthused young woman. "For fucks sake at least smile."

The brunette flashed a brief smile. "It better not happen again and if it needs to happen can you please use the shed all the way out back? I don't need the neighbors wondering if I'm up to any more illegal activity than I already am. Having mercenaries trickle in and out of my garage, it doesn't exactly help me."

He nodded as he watched a young man walk into the kitchen. "Who's the kid?" He pointed at him before looking back at Bri.

"This is my boyfriend Juice." Bri pulled Juice to her and smiled. "Juice, this is Frey, ignore his stupidity, they don't make Vikings like they used to."

Juice eyed the man and looked at Bri. "He looks like a rugged version of Jax." He shook his head before extending a hand to Frey. "It's good to meet you man."

"Juice?" Frey shook the man's hand. "Please tell me that's a moniker and not the name your parents gave you."

He shrugged. "It's my nickname… Juan Carlos is my birth name man."

"Ahh, this is Juan Carlos." The blonde eyed the man carefully, starting a slow circle around him as he rubbed his beard. "I've heard about you, now you're here before me. I am in utter shock by this." He paused, looking to Bri who was biting back laughter. "There's breakfast over there if you're hungry, we even have _juice._"

"I'm good, I'm just gonna make me a shake and call it a day." Juice shrugged as he grabbed Bri and tugged her towards the pantry. "Why do you have a freaky Jax look alike in your house?" He closed the door behind them as he looked at the protein powders Bri had stocked up on just for his use.

Bri sighed and smirked at her boyfriend. "Let's see, Frey is the leader of a subgroup of the mafia… He needed to use the garage for business, so that's why he's here. He'll be gone in no time." She grabbed his chin and kissed his lips and smiled. "So, are we going to keep pretending like we're not in total shock right now?"

He shook his head and poked at her cheeks. "We're having a kid together and the doctor said you need to take it easy because you're stressed and keep being dehydrated." He sighed and laced his fingers through hers. "You need to take his orders seriously babe, we don't want anything happening to the _rebenok._"

"Look at you, using google to learn how to say baby in Russian." She opened the pantry door and walked out. "I love it, it's cute and I'm taking the orders seriously, I just need to get through the next month and I'll be able to take time off and actually relax, relax… Don't tell anyone about this, not even Jacey or Happy."

Juice laughed as he followed her out of the pantry, his arms loaded down with powders. "I won't say anything to anyone, your secret is safe with me." He dropped the containers onto the counter and walked to the fridge. "Are you sure you don't want a shake?"

"I'll take a damn shake but only if you can make mine pink and not that nasty shade of green you're always chugging down." She reached around him and grabbed the plastic container of strawberries. "I want all the berries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt… Take your pick."

He ignored her and grabbed a vanilla yogurt from the fridge. "I'm going to turn you on to eating and drinking healthy babe." He laughed as he watched her higher herself onto the counter next to his spread of fruits and powders.

"I don't mind eating healthy, I just love eating all the junk food." She picked at the bunch of kale sitting next to her and frowned. "I don't think I could eat like a bunny for my whole life… I don't care what kind of body it gives me." She ran her hands through her hair as the blender started, turning her shake a pretty pink color. "See, it doesn't look so bad when it's a pink color and not that green color."

"Whatever." He laughed as he dropped in a few more berries. "This is going to be the best smoothie you've ever tasted Bri."

"Ahh, it better be!" She accepted the cup and took a small sip before smiling. "It tastes like mango and pineapples, I thought you put berries in here too!"

"I did but the mango and pineapple overpower the berry taste." He shrugged as he went to work making his green machine smoothie. "Drink it all…"

"I'm gonna drink it all." Bri slid off the counter, her sneakers making a soft thud on the hard tiled floor." She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and smiled. "I'll be in the office all day, stop by if you need me."

**SOA**

Juice walked through the pristine offices, he had taken Bri's words of stopping by if he needed her and right now he needed her more than ever. He had managed to complete the task Aleksandr had given him and it was slowly eating him away inside and there was only one way to stop it, he was going to have to tell his girlfriend. "Bri." He walked into her office, smiling as his brown eyes locked in on her.

"Babe." Bri smiled back as she closed the file and looked at Juice who was not in his usual biker getup but instead wore basketball shorts and a plain white shirt. "You need me for something babe?"

He locked the door behind him and sat down in the chair in front of her glass desk. "Yeah, I really need to talk to you about something serious Brianna." He leaned forward and grabbed her hands and sighed. "I had a talk with Aleksandr a little bit ago and he gave me a task and I handled it but it's not sitting right with me."

The brunette nodded. "I will fucking kill him… What'd you do? He have you shoot someone for him huh?" She frowned and leaned forward resting her forehead against his. "It's okay baby, you did what you had to do… I don't think that's anything you should be upset or feel guilty about unless he forced you to do it."

Juice nodded. "He had me shoot someone but I felt bad because the person had done nothing to upset me or my family… It felt different than handling shit for the club, this felt too out of character for me."

"You could have told me when it happened. I would have stepped in and you wouldn't have had to do it." Bri kissed him and smiled. "It won't happen again, Aleksandr was just flexing his muscle, it's what he does."

He smiled back at her. "I love you."

"I love you too… Now tell me, how many weird looks did you get on your way up here?" She chuckled and leaned back in her chair, propping her sneaker clad feet on her desk. "I'm not sure I look the part of surgeon today."

The man ran his hands over her left arms and smirked. "You never look the part of surgeon, that'd be the last profession I would say you were in… You ever going to tell me about the meaning behind your ink?" He traced the lines of the intricate moth on the back of her arm.

"Life and death of Katarzyna." She shrugged. "It's simple as that."

"Why not the life and death of Brianna?" Juice pressed a kiss to her hand and smiled.

The brunette shrugged. "Because Katarzyna died and not Brianna… I guess it's a thing, like my ex called me Katarzyna and when I was going through that I never really felt like Bri or Brianna. It wasn't until I came back to the states that I felt like Brianna again." She sighed and rubbed her arm. "The only thing that links me back really is that awful tattoo on my back.

He nodded, finally understanding what she was explaining. "I get it. Everyone needs a rebirth." He smiled at her. "I got something else to talk to you about… I think I have to move in with you unless you're gonna move into my house."

Bri shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that your house can fit into my basement." She dropped her feet to the ground. "You can move in, just don't go too crazy organizing the whole place." She smiled at him before opening the file she was reading when he came in.

**September 17, 2008 **

"Do you have to do that?" Bri looked at Frey who had turned her driveway into a workplace. "If you get oil on my driveway you better know how to get the stain up." She crossed her arms as the man continued to work on the muscle car and ignore her. "You can't keep ignoring me." She socked him in the back, causing him to whip around violently, his blue eyes set on her.

"What the fuck was that?" He growled at her as he dropped the wrench to the ground and wiped his hands on the towel hanging from his back pocket. "I wasn't ignoring you, I was working and listening _boss_."

The brunette shrugged. "I just needed you to know I will use brute force and hit you if you drip oil onto my driveway…" She shook her head and bent to grab the wrench. "I don't see why you didn't work on this beast in the garage, it's set up like a shop."

Frey rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not working on my car, it's insulted by the presence of your little prissy ass import cars." He pointed at the Audi, Lamborghini, and Ferrari tucked into the garage. "It's all about American muscle darlin'." He winked at her.

Bri chuckled. "Okay, you're going to be working on this thing on the street if you keep insulting my babies like that!" She smacked his arm and shook his head. "Do you just eavesdrop when Jax comes over to hang out?"

He shrugged. "Maybe…"

"Great." She crossed her arms and backed away. "Don't get my driveway fucked up or I will send you back home on the next Viking ship I can find." She turned and walked further down the driveway, looking at the Bat Cave, wanting so badly to go over and be social but instead she grabbed the mail and turned back to go inside of her house.

"Kitty Kat." Svetlana wrapped her arms around the brunette and smiled. "Wanna go bust an adventure? I'm thinking the beach, or maybe even Vegas."

"Vegas." Bri nodded. "I've been wanting to hit up the casinos, drop a few thousand and relax by a rooftop pool."

"I'll set it up… Invite Jacey." Svet smiled at her best friend. "She can still gamble, pregnant or not."

Bri shook her head. "I'm not inviting Jacey, it should just be all of us this trip." She smiled as they linked arms and walked inside of the house. "It should be fun."

"You and Jacey having issues or something?" The brunette pulled Bri down on the sofa with her. "Talk to me baby! I'm a good listener."

"No, we're not having issues… She wouldn't have fun hanging out with us. She's pregnant, she'll be having cravings and mood swings." She let out a loud sigh. "Would you have fun if you were the pregnant friend Svet?"

"Nope." Svet shook her head. "Well, let's plan this shit out and we can go maybe this weekend, it's not like any of us work on the weekends anyway." She pulled out her phone and started to scroll through it. "It'll be crazy! I'll make sure you stay dry, no liquor for my little recovering alcoholic." She pressed a kiss to Bri's temple and smiled. "Nikola is going to love this place."

Bri smirked. "You get everything booked and I'll start inviting people… Extend an invite to Juice and let him bring two of his friends with him or some shit, it can't be just all girls." She slipped off the sofa and stretched. "I need to find me a sexy ass black dress now." She clucked her tongue as she moved towards the stairs. "Vegas, here we come!"

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**As always let me know what you thought.**


	24. Chapter 24 Vegas PT 1

**September 21, 2008 **

Bri groaned as she moved out of the bathroom and back to her bed, face planting into her pillows as she fisted the sheets. "JUICE!" She slapped his chest and turned her head to look at him. "Why is this happening today of all times?"

Juice laughed. "Because it's morning sickness." He rubbed her neck. "You shouldn't go on the trip if you're feeling this bad babe."

"I'm going, I already paid for our room… If it comes down to it, I'll be laying in that expensive ass room and sleeping through this morning sickness the best I can." The brunette sat up on her knees and smiled. "Who'd you invite anyways?"

"I can't tell you… You're going to have to wait and see when time comes to depart." He pushed himself up and gave her a kiss. "You sure you want to go still? You can pick up Moni from her friend's house and then spend all weekend cuddling with your little monkey."

Bri shook her head. "I'm going, I'll take it easy and just hit the casinos and not to the strip clubs with everyone… I'll be fine. Plus, I told Monica I wouldn't pick her up early, this is her first full weekend sleepover and she was super excited that I let her go. She needs friends her own age, she's a six year old whose best friends are bikers in their thirties."

Juice nodded. "Yeah, we need her to be friends with six year olds name Lulu who always wears stupid tutus." He smirked at his girlfriend. "Alright, let's get showered and dressed, everyone will be here soon, even though they'll probably be late."

"I'd kill Svet and Nik if they were late… They are in the same house that we're in." Bri moved off the bed and pulled her shirt over her head. "Why do I have a feeling you invited Chibs, Tig &amp; Kozik on this trip?"

"Because Jax and Happy were both busy." He smirked at her as he wrapped an arm around her bare waist and walked them into the large bathroom, turning on the shower before he disrobed and helped her out of her sleep shorts. "This shower needs to be a relaxing one, it'll soothe your nausea baby."

Bri stepped into the shower, feeling relaxed as the hot water hit her skin, turning it bright red before she adjusted it. "It feels good already."

Juice nodded as he started to move her loofa over her body, leaving trails of bubbles behind. "Why do you have this scent? He looked at the bottle that read 'Bri'. "It doesn't even have a real label or anything."

"That's what makes me smell like the air does after a rain storm." She shrugged her shoulders as she turned around, letting the water drench her hair. "It's my custom made scent."

He nodded. "That's so weird but it's so amazing." He watched her rinse off before he washed and rinsed himself. "You sure you're feeling up for the trip?"

Bri rolled her eyes. "If you ask me that one more time, I'm going to make you ride in a car and not on your Dyna? Is that a fate you want?"

Juice bit back a smile and shook his head. "Nope, nope. Just forget I even asked you that question babe."

**SOA**

Brianna crossed her arms as she watched the caravan of all black SUVs pull in front of her house. She shook her head and entered the gate code, waiting for it to open partially before slipping out and waiting for the drivers of the SUVS to emerge. "What is this shit?" She walked down the line, seeing her mark on each of the back windows. "Why is this Russian shit plastered all over the place. I wanted something low key."

Frey smirked at the brunette. "You asked for Rovers, we got you Rovers my dear." He shrugged and pointed to the SUVS. "The decal was my idea, I thought it'd make things pop and more interesting… Let them know the mafia is in town."

"Remind me to kill you." She shook her head at the Skulls on the back windows. "I look like I'm trying to be a rip off of the Sons." She frowned as the sound of Harleys pierced through the air. "They'll have to do, did you really buy five of them though?"

He shrugged. "Yeah! There's a lot of people going…"

"You needed two at the most!" Bri grabbed a hold of his shirt and shook him. "Do you just think I happen to be made of money? Huh Frey?"

He laughed. "You're made of money! Look at this house! You're not even in debt from going to medical school. You're old and new money!" He pulled her hands off his shirt. "Now, let's get everyone assigned a car, I assume you want to be with Svet, Nik and Jacey."

"Jacey isn't going… How many times do I have to say that?" She shook her head again before walking away from the aggravating man and towards the house.

"I swear, if I'm not in a car with Frey, I will die." Svetlana smirked at her friend as she walked out the front door. "He's so damn fine, have you tried him out?"

Bri rolled her eyes. "I try not to mix business with pleasure… He's not my type anyways, he's not goofy enough."

The brunette gaped at her friend. "I don't care! He's beautiful and I need to sleep with him before Nik digs her claws into him… I call dibs! Nik! I call dibs on the viking Frey!" She grabbed the blonde as she sidled past. "Don't touch him."

Nik paused. "Wait! You can't just call dibs on him like that! I didn't even know he was up for grabs! Svetlana!" She smiled at the brunette. "I have my eyes on someone else anyways, I just wish he could have been available to come on this trip."

"We're all sluts who go through men." Bri sighed.

"Not sluts, there's nothing wrong with keeping your options open and having some fun before you decide to settle down… You've settled down, you and Juice look like you're in some blissful state every time you two are together." Svetlana smiled.

"I love that man." She smiled at her best friend before turning around, her grey eyes landing on Jacey's house. "I wish Jacey were coming with us but she's been dead to everyone besides Happy… It's annoying but I guess I get it. She wants him around all the time because she's knocked up."

Svetlana shrugged. "Forget her the, we're going to have fun and when you come back you can worry about Jacey." She wrapped an arm around Bri's neck and kissed her cheek. "It's me and you Kitty Kat, like old times…"

"Let's go babe." Juice grabbed the brunette's hands and tugged her into him. "The gang's all here and anxious to get on the road." He kissed her before walking her towards the gates. "I hope you and Kozik can get along."

Bri groaned. "I don't see why you had to invite him… I could have done without him being here baby." She linked her hands behind his neck and sighed. "I'm feeling a little nauseous but I hope it'll pass on the ride over… If Svet doesn't kill me on the way there."

**SOA**

Juice frowned as he carried Bri into their hotel room, as soon as she had gotten out of the SUV, he could tell she wasn't feeling well. Her face had a nasty grey tint to it. "You should have called off this trip." He laid her on the bed and shook his head as he began to undress her. "The car ride couldn't have helped your situation that much Brianna."

She groaned, feeling him tug her jeans down her legs. "I blamed it on car sickness, Svet was driving sort of like a maniac the whole time." She pulled at his shirt, making him drop down to the bed beside her, as she draped a leg over his hip. "I just want to rest for a little while Juice, do you wanna stay with me or do you want to go hang out with the guys downstairs in the casino?"

"I'll stay with you." He kissed her temple and toed off his boots as he relaxed on the surprisingly comfortable bed. "I'm not used to these type of rooms, I was half expecting to be in a low budget motel room a few miles from the strip, not on the actual strip and above a casino."

The worn out brunette chuckled. "Never low budget when you travel with Russian princesses." She rubbed his side as she craned her neck to look up at him. "I wish I would have extended an invitation to Jacey… I feel so bad about it right now."

"Don't feel too bad, it's not like you've been hanging out with her or anything. You two haven't really spoken too often since she's moved in next door." Juice moved away from his girlfriend and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the ground. "If you miss her that much, hang out with her when we get back, I think she'd like that."

"Yeah." Bri sighed. "Now we have to make the most of this Vegas trip… I've always wanted to get married in one of those Elvis chapel things…"

"Seriously?" He smirked at her. "If you're serious, I can make it happen right now." He continued to smile as he watched her shrug. "It's so happening before we leave this damn place."

**September 22, 2008 **

"Does my ass look good in this skirt?" Bri turned around in the mirror, looking at her reflection with pure intensity before looking back at her younger sister Nik. "Does it?"

Nik rolled her eyes. "Your ass always looks good Brianna, it's why I hate you so much!" She smirked as she pulled on her heels. "Where are we going anyways? The guys haven't told me a damn thing, have they mentioned anything to you?"

The brunette shrugged. "Nope, they just said to meet them downstairs in the lobby because they have something fun planned for us… I hope it's nothing too intense, I'm nursing a fever today. It's terrible."

"Is that why you look all nasty and sweaty." Nik moved from the bed, grabbing a few tissues from the nightstand before moving towards her older sister. "If you're sick, you need to stay here Bri." She carefully blotted Bri's face before frowning at her. "You should stay behind."

Bri nodded. "I'll be fine, I need the tylenol to kick in." She smiled at her sister. "Thanks Nik."

"Let's go." Nik grabbed their purses from the bed and tugged at her sister. "They're all downstairs waiting on us… You got an excuse for why we're late?"

"Yeah!" The brunette smirked as they walked out of the room and towards the elevator. "I couldn't get my skirt over my ass."

Nik rolled her eyes as they rode the elevator down. "It's a believable excuse, I'm not even sure where you got that ass from… I don't have one like that, that's for sure." She pushed off the wall of the elevator as the door opened, giving both Hohrykova women a perfect view of their group of friends. "Let's tear up the night Bri Bri."

"Sounds like a plan Nik Nik." She smirked even though she knew she'd probably be calling it an early night, the last thing she wanted to do was risk putting the baby in unnecessary danger. "Babe." She smiled as she walked up to Juice.

"Damn babe." Juice's brown eyes raked over Bri. "You look so damn good babe." He rested his hands on her hips. "I don't know if I wanna even go out now, I may have to take you back upstairs."

Bri laughed. "Let's show face for a little bit then we can come back and have our own fun." She pressed a kiss to his lips and smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'm feeling better."

**SOA**

"Brianna!" Kozik looked at the brunette sitting in the front row and smirked. "What's up Brianna Banana?" He dropped down next to her and passed her a bottle of water. "I know you've cut the drinking off…"

Bri rolled her eyes and turned slightly to look at the man. "What do you want? You come here to call me a croweater again?" She set the water bottle on the table that was fit snuggly between their seats.

He winced and shook his head. "No, I want to apologize for that comment, it should have never left my mouth. It was instant regret." He looked at her and smiled. "I'm sorry about it Bri."

"I forgive you." She shrugged her shoulders and turned back towards the stage as the lights went low. "These girls better be pretty."

"I'll buy you a lap dance, I hear these two girls are twins." He pulled his wallet from his pocket and pulled out a few bills. "You think they do a two for one type deal?" He looked at the brunette who was wearing her signature playful smirk. "That's the smirk I wanted to see…"

The brunette sighed and looked at him. "I don't want a lap dance Kozik, the last thing I need is a lapdance."

"Come one!" He yelled as the music started to make the conversation difficult to hold. "It'll loosen up, plus look at your sister and Svet, they have dancers all over them! You don't want that? I know you want that!"

"I don't want that!" She looked at her sisters who were waist deep in scantily clad strippers. "I don't want a lap dance, if you force one on me, I'll probably insult the stripper and ask if she thought about getting new tits."

"What's the deal with that?" He looked between the topless dancer and Bri.

"I like giving people better body parts… If a girl's fake tits look _fake_, I'm going to fucking tell her, even if it pisses her off." Bri shook her head as the girl came off the stage and started dancing in front of her and Kozik. "Hers are terrible." She pointed at the woman's chest and frowned.

"Lap dance?" The blonde looked at Kozik.

"Yeah, for her." He pointed to Bri, laughing as the blonde started gyrating in front of her before sitting on her lap. "Loosen up Doc! You need it!"

"I don't need this!" She laughed as she tipped the dancer anyways. "At least this isn't…" Her thought fell from her lips as she watched the blonde get completely naked. "Nevermind!" She shook her head, feeling a blush rise through her entire body.

"Complete nudity!" Kozik smirked as the girl in his lap lost the last flimsy piece of clothing she had on. "I want both of these women." He grabbed the woman off Bri's lap and smiled. "Thanks Doc."

"Whatever." Bri pushed out of her seat, weaving her way through the crowds, her eyes set on finding Juice. "You see Juice?" She looked at Chibs who just pointed towards the bar. "Thanks." She rerouted, finding her boyfriend nursing a drink at the bar. "Hey baby."

"Lap dance over that quick?" Juice smirked at Bri.

"Oh, Kozik bought me a dance then took her from me." She shrugged. "I wasn't feeling it anyway, her tits reminded me of those damn googly eye things. One nipple was looking straight while the other was gazing off to the side."

He chuckled as he pulled her between his legs. "You always had a way with describing shit." He kissed her lips softly. "You still feeling well? You looked flushed."

"I blushed when the girl took off _everything_." Bri looked back to Kozik and the twins. "It was something I could have done without seeing. I get the whole Russians love strip clubs but I think that applies more to the male Russians… Although Svet and Nik are really into everything."

"Let's go for a walk." He slid off the stool and grabbed her hand. "It'll be good to get fresh air and we can grab something to eat." He lead her through the crowded club and out into the late night air. "I've never really been here at night."

"All flash no substance." Bri sighed as she looked at the lights of the strip. "It's a tourist attraction, I lived here for a few months while I fled from the whole Dani thing… It was something I never told anyone until now. I loved it but it wasn't the best environment for me so I went back to Sweden."

He nodded his head slowly. "I'm surprised you didn't take Jacey with you when you left. You two are really close."

The brunette laughed. "She was dealing with her own shit and I decided to run and not face my problems while she stayed and dealt with hers. Every time I say I wanna leave, I get that shit thrown in my face, 'run, that's all you know how to do anyways' or 'just leave, it's what you do best'." She shrugged her shoulders. "It gets annoying after the first time… I left, so fucking deal with it."

"I get it, I left Queens. I didn't have anything worth staying there for, so I know how you feel." He pulled her in closer to him. "Just know, if shit ever goes bad, I'll pack up and leave with you… I love the club but if we go over to Ireland or some shit, I could still be a Son."

"Ireland is the last place I'll go… Russians and Irish, they don't mix. It's an arms race with our people." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "You'll learn all about the shit eventually… We're gearing up for a nasty war."

Juice nodded. "I look forward to learning all about everything." He lied, knowing he wasn't anywhere near ready to learn Bri's family business. He could barely handle what the club was doing, he couldn't imagine how much more illegal shit her family was into. "I love you Bri."

"I love you too." Bri smiled at him, her grey eyes going wide. "Look babe, a little white chapel." She halted and pointed towards the building. "Let's go."

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**Yeah, let me know what you thought about this chapter.**


	25. Chapter 25 Vegas PT 2

"I'm down." Juice started steering himself and Bri towards the chapel. "You sure about this Brianna?" He glanced at her.

"Yup, always wanted to marry you and always wanted to have a quick Vegas wedding." She laughed as they walked into the building. "Aw, it's so damn cute."

"Are you even allowed to get married here? You're not exactly a citizen…" He paused as they looked at the options the chapel offered.

Bri nodded. "I've been a citizen for a month now."

"Why didn't you tell any of us? That's a pretty big deal babe." He wrapped his arm around her and smiled. "We could have had a party."

She shrugged. "It didn't seem like a big deal, I just had to do it so I could practice medicine here plus I was tired of all the extra paperwork I had to carry around. Nothing was in my name either. Do you believe Aleksandr had his citizenship before me? Had it since I was five and I didn't even know."

"You still should have said something, I could have taken you out for dinner." He kissed her cheek and flipped through the catalogue. "Are you sure you want to do this Bri?"

"I'm sure that I love you and want to marry you but I don't know if we should do it here… I actually want all of my family around and I need Jacey at my side." Bri sighed. "I don't think we should, not now at least."

Juice nodded. "That's fine with me." He grabbed her hands and smiled. "Plus, this will give me time to get a ring and all that shit." He backed up towards the door and smirked. "Now, let's go make use of that hotel room."

**SOA**

Juice dragged his teeth across Bri's bottom lip as he opened the door to their hotel room. He couldn't contain himself anymore, her outfit had been driving him crazy all night and now, hearing the small moans escaping her lips, just sent him further over the edge of being wrecked with lust and need. "Fuck, I need you…" He closed the door behind them and found his hands tearing at the material of her skirt. "God, did you have to wear clothes?"

Bri laughed and shrugged her shoulders, looking at the handsome man through heady hooded eyes. "I'll help you…" She turned around and lifted her hair, revealing the zipper of her skirt.

He smirked, unzipping her skirt before tugging it viciously down her legs, his hands once again on her body, leaving trails of warmth in each spot he touched. "You're so beautiful…" He tore away the flimsy shirt she was wearing and started dotting her bare shoulders with featherlight kissed as he snaked a hand inside of her panties. "I need you right now." He whispered against her ear, smiling as he felt the shiver run through her spine.

"I need you too." She mumbled as they walked towards the bed. "Now." She pushed back against him as she felt his thumb brush over her clit, sending another round of shivers down her spine.

Juice pulled away from her, quickly ridding himself of all his clothing, his dark brown eyes never leaving her body. "I love when you're into it like this." He moved back towards her, his hand ripping the lace panties from her body. "That's so much better." He captured her lips in a kiss, his tongue snaking into her mouth as he tangled his hands into her hair as she moved her body lazily against his. He pushed her down onto the bed, watching her move up it slowly before taking his spot between her legs.

"You're so mean, just fuck me already!" Bri wrapped her legs around his waist and smiled up at him. "Skip the foreplay, we can do that another time, I just need you inside of me babe… Right now."

He leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss as he pushed into her with one fluid movement, pausing to bask in the feeling of being inside of the woman he was so madly in love with. "I love you babe." He rolled his hips into her, feeling her legs tighten around him and her back arch as he continued the slow deliberate pace.

"I love you too." She moved her hands down his back and writhed underneath him. "I love this pace but I'm gonna need you to speed it up babe." She smirked as she peppered his chest with light kisses as she felt him start to speed up.

He nodded, moving back onto his knees as he gripped her hips and pulled her tightly against him as he began thrusting into her with more force. A smile on his lips as he watched her beautiful face twist up in ecstasy. "You feel so damn good…" He moved his hands up her body, cupping her breasts as he ran his thumbs over her nipples, relishing in the feeling of her shivering under his touch.

"Fuck." Bri moaned as she covered his hands with hers. "This feels so damn good babe…" She tilted her head back, her mouth falling open as she moved her hips to match each of his forceful thrusts. Sending her further into a state of lust.

Juice grabbed her hips viciously, digging his fingers into her flesh, no doubt leaving behind bruises as he slammed into her repeatedly, the room becoming filled with her moans and the sounds of their bodies becoming one. He worked her over the way he knew best, his left hand moving to rub over her clit as he felt her stiffen up, her breath catching in her throat as he continued to assault her sensitive bundle of nerves. "You gonna come for me baby?" He picked up the intensity of his movements. Rolling her clit between his fingers, he felt her tighten up around him, making it difficult for him to keep up his pace. "Fuck babe…" He bent down, biting her chest as he continued to thrust into her.

"Oh God!" The brunette screamed as she moved her hips up and down, her orgasm rushing through her. The intense sensation causing her eyes to flutter shut as she fisted the sheets and continued to move her hips in rhythm with him. "So fucking good…"

He slammed into her, sending her into the mattress as he worked himself into a frenzy. The contractions of her orgasm sending him inching closer to an orgasm of his own. "Fuck." He mumbled before stilling within her, spilling his seed inside her before collapsing on top of her. "That was the best almost got married in Vegas sex I've ever had. Although this is the first time ever."

Bri laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I say, we should go again… Are you up for it?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." Juice laughed and flipped them over. "You're doing all the work this time though babe."

"Gladly." Bri looked down at him and smirked. "You're in for a wild ride…"

**September 23, 2008**

Bri smiled as she woke up, the sunlight streaming in, saturating the room in warmth and light. She quickly looked to her side, taking notice of the rumpled blankets, letting her know that Juice was long gone. "Nice." She kicked off the blankets, feeling her stomach roil as she slid off the bed and stretched her back. "How many months do I have left of this shit?" She touched her stomach before grabbing her phone off the nightstand just as knocking started. She moved towards it, pulling it open without looking through the peephole.

"What's up Doc?" Kozik strolled in, smiling at the half dressed brunette. "I came to tell you where your little boyfriend went…"

"Did you kidnap him?" She crossed her arms and started tapping her foot repeatedly. "Spill it Herman."

He shook his head. "No… Jax sent him to do some club shit, since we're up here and everything. It was convenient."

"What the actual fuck?" Bri crossed her arms and moved towards the bed. "I will fucking punch Juice and then when I get home, I'm going to punch Jax. Right in his stupid ass face! This is vacation, not a chance to handle club business."

"Whoa, calm down. It's not that serious." He watched her sit on the bed and roll her eyes. "He'll be back in no time."

"Whatever, when he gets back I won't even be here. He didn't even have the decency to wake me up and tell me. He didn't even call or leave a note. He sent you here? Like it was going to make shit okay." Bri narrowed her eyes at the biker. "How about you get the fuck out of my room now, Kozik."

"Where's this bitchy side coming from?" Kozik studied her carefully and shook his head. "His first obligation is the club, not you. When he gets asked to do something, he _has_ to do it."

"I. Don't. Care." The brunette looked at him, tilting her head to the side. "He can go back to being single and just having the club to worry about… If he can't simply let me know he's leaving _himself_ then I don't want to deal with him or this clubshit." She pointed towards the door. "You can really leave now, I'm done."

"I think you really need to lighten up, it's not that big of a deal." He looked at her, feeling his anger rise with each second. "What the fuck is your deal? This isn't carefree, funny Bri that I met a few months back."

Bri pointed at the door. "I don't want to talk to you, so leave or I will." She eyed her purse and discarded sweats near the bathroom door. "So leave me the fuck alone Kozik… Please."

"No, I'm not leaving until you tell me what the fuck is going on here. It's not like you didn't know he was a Son, didn't know his loyalty to the club is something he puts before anything and anyone else… Get the fuck over it, he left. He's off doing his job." He moved closer to her and shook her shoulders. "Get the fuck over yourself."

"Way to be mean to a woman Kozik." Bri moved off the bed and brushed past him, grabbing her jeans and purse as she walked out of the room. "I'm leaving, so just fuck off Kozik."

"Bri." Kozik walked out of the room, spotting the brunette waiting for the elevator. "Wait. I didn't mean to touch you like that. Can you just go back to your room and I'll leave you alone. I promise."

"No. I'm leaving." She walked onto the elevator and looked at him. "I suggest that you don't follow me down, you'll surely regret it if you so."

He hopped on to the elevator. "What are you going to do? Have your little Russians downstairs waiting for me?" He looked at her. "Come the fuck on Bri, just tell me why the fuck you're so worked up about this shit!"

"Because I'm an emotional basket case right now." She looked at him. "What? Do you need further explanation Herman?"

He shook his head. "You're going to need a better excuse than that." He looked at her as the doors opened. "I see you did call the Russians…"

"Yeah, well. I warned you." Bri stepped off the elevator, immediately being protected by Frey who was glaring at Kozik. "He's fine. I just want to change hotels, please."

Kozik reached out for Bri, only to end up on the floor with a boot on his throat. "Hey, man let me up. I can't let her fucking leave!"

"You're letting her leave, she's upset." Frey looked down at him. "Have some fucking respect for my boss." He lifted up his foot and turned away. "Follow us and you'll end up in the goddamn desert."

**SOA**

"She got how mad?" Juice looked around the empty room as he listened to Kozik recap the story. "She just left?" He ran a hand over his head and sighed. "She needed to stay asleep, she wasn't feeling well, last night. Hell, this whole time we've been here, she's been running a fever."

"She didn't get mad, it was more of a super pissed off." Kozik shook his head. "I told her that you had to handle the club business. She went fucking ballistic on me. I followed her down to the lobby and all these big ass dudes were down there waiting for her. I don't even know how they got there so quick either. She asked Frey to move her to another hotel."

Juice nodded. "I'll talk to her. Explain myself and she'll be fine. She's going through personal shit on top of being sick. I think the whole not talking to Jacey has her all twisted up."

"Yeah, well whatever it is, she needs to deal with it quickly." Kozik sighed and rubbed his face. "I tried to keep her from leaving but that Frey dude is a lot stronger than he fucking looks. Knocked me on my ass."

He laughed. "Yeah, well, I'm going to find her. Thanks for telling her and I'm sorry that you got the brunt of her anger." He walked towards the door, holding it open for Kozik. "I guess I'll head over to the palms and find her. I think that's the only hotel she'd actually stay in."

"Alright, I'll be hanging around with Svetlana and Nik in the casino then." Kozik smiled before heading off in the opposite direction of Juice.

"Later!" Juice called to Kozik as he walked out of the hotel, slipping his sunglasses on his face as he made his way the short distance to Bri's new hotel. Hoping and praying she used her last name and wasn't actually trying to hide from him. "I'm looking for Miss Hohrykova." He looked at the receptionist behind the desk. "I was told to meet her here but she neglected to give me her room number and she's not answering her phone."

"She's in the penthouse suite." The blonde looked at him before scribbling the information down on a piece of paper.

"Thanks." He smiled before turning towards the bank of shiny elevators. He exited the elevator, his hands becoming clammy as he made his way towards Bri's suite. He knocked on the on the door before ringing the doorbell.

"About time…" Bri whipped open the door before pausing and rolling her eyes. "What do you want Juan?"

Juice walked into the suite. "I want to talk to you about your little outburst with Kozik this morning Bri. What was with that?"

She shrugged. "I can't help it, my hormones are already out of fucking whack! How would you fucking feel if you woke up and I was gone without leaving you a note or text or anything? You think you'd be happy if I sent Svet or Nik into the room?"

He shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry for not telling you. You need your sleep Brianna, you weren't doing too well and I didn't want to wake you. Plus, I thought it was more considerate to send Kozik in. You two seemed to have made up in the club."

Bri rolled her eyes. "No, no it wasn't more considerate. I had to listen to his spiel about how the club is your obligation and I'm not and I need to realize that it'll always come first because it's your job. How'd you think that shit made me feel? It's bad enough that I already know that the club is your priority. It's even worse when it's spoken out loud.

Juice enveloped the brunette in a hug and kissed her head as she started to cry. "Bri, you need to know that you're my priority, yeah I'll have to handle club business but that doesn't mean I put the club before you. It was just Jax being a dick about shit. He could have sent one of the other three but he asked me. I think he was testing my loyalty to the club. I had to go handle it and I'm sorry for not telling you. It won't happen ever again…"

"I just don't want us to have this kid and you're gone most of the time." She pulled out of his arms and stared at him. "I don't need us to be at odds because you want to desert one family for the other family."

"Look at me Bri. I'm not gonna desert you or the kid, or the family we're building together." He pulled her back into a hug. "I'll have to do runs and stuff but it won't be all bad. I'll still have time to hang out and be goofy with you guys. I promise babe. I'm not going to fuck things up with you this time around. I love you too much for that."

"I love you too… I'm sorry for being an emotional monster." Bri smiled and pulled away from him. "So, are you going to stay here with me or are you going to leave me?"

He stepped out of his boots and pushed her onto the bed. "I'm going to stay here with you and the olive and wait for whatever room service you ordered and were expecting when I showed up to the door."

"Olive?" She shook her head. "I'm not agreeing to call him that… His name is Nolan Ryan Ortiz and he's going to marry Jacey's daughter."

"You name him without even asking me? What happens if the olive is a girl?" Juice wrapped his legs around her and smirked. "My son isn't marrying Happy's daughter, she'll kill him. I don't want to put him in danger!"

Bri laughed. "Yeah I did… You have any name suggestions?" She tilted her head back to look at him. "Fine, we'll let him pick who he loves and wants to marry. One thing that's not happening, he's not becoming a Son. I'd kill you if you let him become one."

"The kid could be a girl!" He chuckled. "I don't think we should be jumping to any conclusions that it's a boy."

"What? You want a daughter?" She touched her stomach. "I could go for either. I think Monica would make a big sister regardless, if she doesn't act like a complete brat first though."

"I would like either, as long as the kid is healthy and happy." Juice shrugged. "I think another little, more tan version of you running around would be pretty damn fun though. Then, I'd be really outnumbered by the women in your family."

"Oh lord, the last thing we need is another me running around." The brunette laughed at the image of another little girl terrorizing the house. "Let's keep our fingers crossed for a little mini version of you. The new and improved one, I swear if our son is an asshole like you were as a teen, I'll put him in the strictest Russian boarding school I can find and put him under the watchful eye of Aleksandr's older brother Stellan. He makes Aleksandr look like a cuddly puppy dog."

"He won't be, I'll teach him what not to do." Juice moved from behind her as the doorbell rang. "I guess that's your room service."

"Bitch him out for me! He's so damn late it's not funny!" Bri sat up in bed and looked at Juice who was wheeling in a cart of food. "I didn't hear you bitch him out!"

"He included something free, I couldn't bitch him out for that." He looked at the spread of food and smiled. "You just made my inner stoner so damn happy right now… How'd you get them to send up Cheetos?"

"Hohrykovas have that type of power." She laughed as she grabbed the burger and fries from the cart. "Now, let's talk about this stoner thing…"

"I'm not gonna smoke in the house with the kid." Juice took a bite of her burger and shrugged. "I don't see why you needed to put sauerkraut on a damn burger."

"It tastes good with the bacon and I never usually eat it, so I don't know but I wanted it this time." She looked at her stomach and frowned. "The little fucker is already taking over my tastebuds and I'm so hoping I won't get too fat."

"I'd kill to see your ass triple in size." He smirked as he rubbed her thighs. "If you limit your pig out days then you won't get too bad baby. I'll feed you shakes but I'm sure you'll be sneaking out to satisfy your cravings."

Bri nodded. "I'll be hanging out with Jacey, she'll feed me cheese fries and take out."

"No. I'm going to tell Jacey not to feed you junk food. I'm going to have Happy ban you from their house." He took the burger from her and dropped it on the cart. "I think you should eat this pasta salad you ordered. It tastes pretty damn good."

"Yeah, yeah. I'd eat it but your fat ass is eating it all up." She reached for the bowl only to have him pull it away from her. "See! You're still the same! You'd always eat my food then and you're doing the same damn thing right now." She moved closer to him, opening her mouth slightly. "Feed me then if you want let me feed myself."

Juice fed her a spoonful of pasta and smiled as she ate it. "You always had the best food. Those baklavas Ingrid always made, I'd go to your house on Sundays just for those. The Sunday suppers were pretty damn amazing as well." He laughed at the memory of all the suppers he shared at the Hohrykova home back in Queens. "Your attempt at them, nearly burned the whole damn kitchen down, do you remember that?"

Bri nodded vehemently. "I do! Ingrid nearly throttled me to death for that shit. You think Aleksandr is crazy when I mess up, fuck up Ingrid's work space and she'll go ballistic! After you left, she chased me through the place with a belt."

He keeled over laughing. "I would love to see that! Well, the oven wouldn't have caught fire if we would have paid attention instead of sneaking up to your bedroom and making out…"

"I recall us having sex, not just making out." She shook her head and smiled. "God, we do have some amazing memories together huh?"

"We do." He pulled her close to him and kissed her cheek. "I think the amazing memories outnumber the times I was a complete and total ass to you. I suggest we start telling people those and not the bad ones."

"I agree." Bri nodded as she closed her eyes, a memory coming to her quickly. "Remember when we went to our first dance together? You wore a damn white shirt and leather jacket with combat boots and I cried about it because I wore a dress."

"You looked so damn good in that dress though! Your legs looked amazing, hell, even your tiny titties looked good in that dress." He laughed as he watched her move so she could look up at him. "You weren't always blessed with huge tits! They had to start somewhere."

"Shut up! You loved them back then." She crossed her arms under her breasts and smirked.

Juice grabbed her legs and pulled her closer, burying his face in her cleavage. "I love them even more now. Way more than the single scoops you were sporting in high school."

"Oh my God!" Bri buried her face in his neck and laughed. "Can we talk about how scrawny you were back then? Or will we just skip over that fact?"

"I had muscles!" He pulled back and flexed his biceps. "These were always around!"

"Bullshit! The only muscles you had were of the seafood variety!" She smacked his chest playfully and chuckled. "We need more moments like these babe. I love this, just eating and reminiscing about the good memories we still hold onto. Less drama, more happiness and making new memories. I was thinking you and I could take Monica to the carnival when we get home. I know she is dying for some teacup rides."

"'d enjoy that actually. A carnival with my girls, even though you won't be able to ride the hardcore rides, like the teacups." He cupped her face and smiled. "I'll win you a panda, you still love those right? I remember the shelves of them in your bedroom, you'd freak if I even touched one or they moved slightly."

"Yeah, I still love them." Bri kissed him softly and smiled against his lips. "I gave them all to Monica, they're scattered about her room but I'm so glad she loves them all. I did save the stupid elephant you won for me at the school carnival our junior year. I'm gonna give it to Nolan."

"That fuckin' elephant with the damn pink hat that you just had to have because it was the hardest to win?" Juice laid down, bringing the brunette with him. His hands rubbing her back slowly as he yawned. "You better still have it, took me forever to win."

"I do, for some reason I didn't burn everything you gave me." She smiled and played with her hair. "I really wish you'd grow your hair back out Juice. I don't care too much for the mohawk."

"Aww, what's wrong with it? I think I look handsome as hell with it." He smirked down at her. "I loved when your hair was a lighter brown."

"To be honest, it reminds me of a landing strip." Bri laughed. "I mean, I appreciate a Brazilian as much as the next girl but not on my boyfriend's head."

Juice laughed. "Okay, then I'll shave it off."

"I don't know, I mean if you like it keep it. I just prefer you having hair so I can play with it like old times. When you used to be upset and you'd lay between my legs and let me play with your hair until you fell asleep. There's not much hair to play with anymore. It's sort of sad." She ran a hand over his head and smiled. "It does make you look like a badass but I'm still always gonna prefer your head full of soft black hair. Don't think about a mustache either, you could never grow a proper one."

"I'll shake it off, get your name tattooed down the center." He touched his head and smiled. "I think Brianna would fit."

"Nah, you'd have to get Katarzyna, written in proper Russian as well. I don't think it'd fit." Bri shook her head. "Let's take a nap though, I need energy for the last night in Vegas, we're going to the casino and I plan to win some money."

"Like you need more money." He settled into the bed with her and pulled her closer to him. "I'll be upset if you win and I don't… I love you Bri."

"I love you too." She mumbled. "Always and forever."

**SOA**

"I don't think it's fair that you won." Svetlana pointed to the stack of chips in front of Bri and pouted. "How is it possible that you have that much luck? You don't even need the money!"

"Neither do you, last I checked, you were rich." The brunette smiled as she looked at the bounty of chips before her. "I think this calls for a celebration. I'm thinking matching rings or something. What're your thoughts Nik? Matching rings for the lot of us? Souvenirs to always remember this Vegas trip? I think the guys would love it."

Nik shrugged. "I don't think the guys are sentimental like us. I say us girls get matching rings and we let the guys be guys. We should get little Monica one, a little baby ring to go with ours. She may not be here but she's linked to us."

"So, we need five rings. Svet, Moni, You, Me and Jacey… Wait make it six, we can't forget her Cupcake. My future niece." Bri smiled as they stood in line to cash out her winnings. "Don't even say shit about it."

"I don't get it Katarzyna. You're so obsessed with her being your sister and best friend. What's so special about keeping her in your life? I don't remember her being the one who got you through the Dani shit. I remember it being myself and Svet who visited and checked in on you." The blonde looked at her sister before turning to Svetlana. "We are your sisters! Not Jacey. At the end of the day, would she drop everything to be at your side?"

"I love Jacey, we have our ups and downs but what sisters don't? I trust that she'd drop everything for me if I needed her to." Bri looked at her little sister and smiled. "If you gave her a fair chance, you'd actually see what I see in Jacey. Why we're best friends and sisters, even through all the bad shit."

Svetlana scoffed. "You don't think we've tried being friends with Jacey? She hated me the first time she even laid eyes on me. I don't think Nik can fair too much better. It's not something that'll happen Kitty Kat. We're your sisters but we can't even be in the same place together."

"I'm done speaking on this subject." Bri collected her payout and turned away from the two women. "One day you'll have to come together and actually be civil. I'm not getting involved with any petty bullshit issues between the three of you. Can we go now? I'm hungry and really need to talk to Aleksandr before I end up drowning this bullshit in alcohol."

"Sorry Brianna." Nik wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed tightly. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just trying to understand why she's so important to you…"

"Because when I came to California to finish up with school and to become a surgeon, I reached out to both you and Svet. I asked you two if you would come live with me, remember that?" She looked between the blonde and brunette and frowned. "You both declined, said you had your own shit to deal with. Jacey was the first friend I made here, despite us meeting the way we did. She ended up making that place feel like home. That's why she matters so much to me because she popped up when I needed someone the most. It's hard for me, always being the only girl, surrounded by a security detail full of men who are all trying to protect me from the Russians back home. I just needed a friend and Jacey was that friend." She moved away from the pair and sighed. "I'm going to my room to pack. I need to go and make things right back home with my _sister_."

**September 24,2008**

"It's good to be home." Bri smiled as she got out of the passenger seat of the black Range Rover. "I need my bed and my furs." She stretched her body as she looked towards Jacey's house.

"Just go talk to her." Nik smacked her sister's ass and laughed. "Looking at her house isn't going to do anything for you."

"I'll go over as soon as my shit is in the house and the rovers are gone. I don't need the rest of these fools over here." She shook her head and sighed. "Plus, I need to see my monkey." She moved towards the door and pulled it open, smiling as Monster came trotting up to her. "Where's my monkey?" She looked at the dog who just wagged its tail.

"Mommy!" Monica launched herself towards Bri. "I'm so glad you're home! I missed you!" She kissed her face. "I missed you."

Bri smiled. "I missed you too. Were you good for Aleksandr or do I have to yell at you Monica?"

"She was good." Aleksandr smile at the brunettes. "How was the trip?"

"It was interesting. I can bet money you already know all about it." She hugged the man and smiled. "It would have been better if you were with us. I know how much of a beast you are when you get into the zone."

He chuckled. "That's right. I was just about to take Monica out for her play date with her friend Gunnar, would you like to come with us?"

"No, no. I don't want to intrude." She looked at her daughter and smiled. "I need to shower and then I was gonna go head to Jacey's and see if I can talk with her."

"I'll bring you back some ice cream." Monica kissed her mom once more. "I love you."

"I love you too. You know my favorite ice cream and toppings. I'll be waiting for that ice cream." Bri smiled and leaned against the wall, watching the pair walk out of the house.

"I got your stuff babe." Juice pulled the brunette from her trance and smiled. "I'll take it to the laundry room and toss it into the wash. You okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just gonna go talk to Jacey." She smiled at him. "I'll be back."

"Be safe. You know she's hormonal and she already has a track record for hitting you." He shrugged. "I'll be around here, relaxing."

"I love you Juan Carlos." Bri smiled at him as she pulled the front door open. "I won't say anything stupid."

"I love you too Katarzyna." Juice smiled at her, watching her leave the house.

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**Let me know what you thought.**


	26. Chapter 26 Our Girl

**Heads up, if you want to read the talk Bri had with Jacey, then hop on over and read chapter 30 of OutlawQueeenn's Trite Escapism. I would have reposted it here but, it was a long chapter and it just didn't. So read it over there if you want to know about it in depth.**

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**September 25, 2008**

"So, what exactly did you and Jacey talk about?" Juice looked at Bri as she tugged her white dress over her head and tossed it towards the hamper. "It had to be serious to move from her house back to here, then end with us having dinner with her and Happy."

She shrugged. "We talked about how we weren't hanging out, then she got pissed because Happy told her about the Vegas trip before I had a chance to. That was terrible, she was a little hormonal and psycho. We made up, only for her to get pissed off and slap me because I made the comment of how it would be easier to accept a gift worth less than a hundred dollars. I didn't slap her back because unlike her my temper doesn't flare up towards pregnant women."

"I figured she slapped you, when you came out of the media room your face looked a little red." He frowned and pulled her down onto the bed with him and smiled. "You two are good now, right?"

"We are good for now." Bri sighed and looked at the man beside her. "I really don't know if I can keep up with our bullshit arguments. It's like there's this unspoken resentment and neither of us care to bring it up but I already told her my problem with her and moved forward. I don't know, it's just a weird relationship."

"I'm sure it'll all work itself out in time." Juice tugged on her hair and smiled. "So, I gave some thought to the whole hair thing and I will grow my hair out but only if you let you cut some of your length off. No one needs ass length hair."

"Fine, I'll trim my hair to the middle of my back." The brunette smiled as she ran her fingers through her long hair. "I grew my hair out so it'd always be covering that stupid tattoo on my back when I went backless or whatnot."

"I'm sure Happy could cover it up, he can put a big ass snake on your back… No! No! He could put my face over that. I'll always be watching your back." He chuckled.

"You're such a damn goof!" Bri poked his side and laughed. "I want something meaningful, something that rings true to me and my story. Not your face, although I do love it so very much babe."

"I'm sleeping in here!" Monica ran and jumped on the big bed. "I think there's a monster in my room and I need Happy to chase it away but he's asleep. I called him."

"Well, Monkey, I don't even know what to say to that to be honest." She looked at the little girl and shrugged. "You can cuddle with us but you need to go to sleep it's nearing one in the morning and you have to be up in six hours for your dance competition. We have to head out early."

"I'll go to sleep." Monica positioned herself between the couple and pulled the blanket up. "I'm gonna dream about getting a cat."

"Keep that dream alive kid. I love you." Bri smiled at her likeness. "Sweet dreams and if you pee in the bed, I'll shave your head."

"I'm a big girl! I don't pee in the bed!" The tiny brunette laughed. "I love you too mommy. Goodnight Juice."

"Goodnight Monica." Juice smiled at her. "I guess my plans for a nightcap are out…"

Bri scowled at the man. "I tried to get you to agree to go into the backyard."

"I didn't pick up on that hint at all." He whispered. "We can still go…"

"Nope, we're all going to sleep because we have to be up early, yeah, you're going to her competition too." She shook her head. "You'll get what you want after the competition. I promise babe."

**SOA**

Juice rested his chin on Bri's shoulder as he ran his hands over her hips as they stood in the corner of the gymnasium. They had been there for an hour, watching the countless teams warm up for the competition. He had smiled the whole time Monica was twirling and jumping around in her red tutu, she seemed to be the most coordinated six year old in the building. "I think she's gonna win."

Bri nodded. "I agree." She rested against him comfortably, enjoying the feeling of his hands on her hips and lower back. "If you keep that up, I'm going to fall asleep Juice." She turned around and pressed her face against his chest and yawned. "I want nachos…"

He laughed as he continued to rub his thumbs up and down her hips. "I'll hold you if you need to fall asleep baby… I'll take lots of pictures of Moni and her red tutu." He looked down at the brunette and smiled as he watched her eyes close. "We should take a seat though, if you really do need to rest."

"I'm fine." She shook her head and slid her hands into the pocket of his hoody. "Where's your kutte babe?"

"I left it in the car, didn't feel right coming to this thing wearing it." Juice kissed her forehead and moved them from standing in the corner to sitting in the bleachers. "These are more comfortable than the ones back in high school." He wrapped his arm around her and smiled.

Bri nodded as she watched Monica practice her tumbling on the mats in the far corner of the space. "We have a doctor's appointment soon."

"Yeah? Just let me know the exact time and I'll be there with you." He looked down at his phone and smiled. "I downloaded an app that'll give us updates on the baby and how it develops and stuff."

The young woman smiled. "An app? That's fancy. What is the baby up to right now? He doing anything special besides making me feel sick and hormonal?"

"Not much." He shrugged. "Is it bad that I just wanna sneak off and have some fun in the car babe?"

"Sounds about right… Not bad at all, I want the same but the competition is gonna start in fifteen minutes and neither of us have ever gotten off that quickly." She snuggled up closer to him and watched as the bleachers started to fill up. "As soon as we get home, it's on."

"Why do you have to torture me and always wear white? Why can't you hide your body with black?" He laughed as he pulled her onto his lap as the lights started to dim. "I will fuck up everybody if Moni doesn't win…"

Bri kissed his cheek. "She'll win something. I have faith in her and her talent. She's pretty good with her turns and all of that."

Juice nodded not even trying to pretend he understood dance and how it was judged. "Go Monica!" He clapped and cheered as Monica and her team walked onto the middle of the floor. "We need to make signs next time." He looked at Bri before looking back to the little girls in tutus starting their routine. "Our girl is good."

The brunette smiled and stared at the man's profile. "Yeah, she really is. Isn't she babe." She turned her eyes and watched as Monica turned and leaped across the floor. "I hope she continues dance."

"Yeah!" He clapped loudly when the group took a bow and pranced out of the gym. "This next group isn't as good as Monica's, I saw them warming up."

"Someone is into this fully." Bri smiled. "Let's go stand with the team parents, since you're being a team dad and whatnot up here cheering for _our_ girl."

Juice grabbed her hand and helped her down the bleachers and towards the spot reserved for Monica's team. "You sure they'll accept me?"

She nodded as she grabbed Monica and swung her around. "You did so amazing monkey… I loved watching you." She kissed her daughter's face all over and set her back down.

"I did?" Monica smiled as she shoved her feet in her sneakers. "I have to do my solo next, it's hip hop. I'm excited. I heard you cheering Juice." She hugged his legs and smiled up at him. "You're so loud! Louder than everyone else."

He chuckled. "I loved watching you dance… I had to let everyone know that I know you and that you're the best."

"Thanks." The tiny dancer smiled. "I'm going to win my age group." She moved her head from side to side and moved away from the couple.

"Hip hop?" Juice smirked at Bri and shook his head as they sat down with the other parents. "How'd that happen? Ballet and hip hop?"

Bri shrugged. "I have no clue but it works for her, ballet helps her with concentration and hip hop gets all her damn energy out." She clapped as she heard Monica's name announced. "Yeaah! Monkey!"

"I never asked, why do you call her monkey?" He slouched in the chair as he held one of her hands in his larger ones as they watched Monica.

"When she came home from the hospital she was in this monkey onesie, ears, tails, the whole nine yards. She was a cute little monkey." She stood up and clapped and whistled as Monica skipped off the floor and towards them. "You did amazing baby."

Monica nodded as she drank some Gatorade. "I felt like I nailed it!" She sat down on her monogrammed dufflebag and smiled at her teammates. "I know we'll get trophies."

"She's humble." Bri shook her head and looked at Juice.

Juice chortled. "Yeah…We're screwed if she doesn't win."

**September 28, 2008 **

Bri shook her head as she followed behind Monica to Jacey's house. "I don't see why you're still carrying around your trophy and wearing your medals. They're supposed to go on your trophy shelf baby."

"I have to show Happy!" The brunette pressed the doorbell and rocked back and forth on her feet, smiling as Happy opened the door. "Hap! I won at my competition, first place n everythin'." She pushed the trophy towards him.

Happy picked up the six year old and examined the medals. "How come I wasn't invited to this competition? Huh? You don't like me anymore?"

Monica shrugged. "You are still my best friend. I was giving you time to prepare for the Cupcake Jacey is having."

He frowned and looked at Bri. "Jacey is out in the backyard, playing with her cameras." He turned his attention back to the six year old. "We can still be friends, you'll be my Cupcake's best friend too."

Bri smiled at the pair before moving down the hall and through the french doors, smiling as she watched Jacey waddle around the backyard, a camera in front of her face and one hanging around her neck. "Hey Teller."

"Bri." Jacey smiled at her best friend before turning her attention back to the screen of her camera. "What brings you to the Bat Cave?"

"Just wanted to visit with you and Monica was dying to show Happy the trophies and medals she won at her first ever dance competition. She put being jealous aside to gloat. Gotta love that kid." The brunette sat down on the chair and watched as Jacey took picture after picture of the backyard. "New toys?"

The blonde nodded slowly. "Yeah, I just want to see what they can do. This backyard is insane. I've been taking pictures for hours."

"You should see the garden in my yard, I think you'd love all the colors. There's also butterflies and creepy crawlies." She shuddered and pulled out her phone and looked at the screen before frowning. "Juice keeps sending me texts about the baby and how it's developing. He's going to drive me into a hole."

Jacey laughed. "That was my life during my first trimester… All apps and facts, now it's calmed down. I guess all his focus is on you and Nolan now. Have fun with all the facts."

Bri rolled her eyes. "I don't mind is level of excitement, however I mind the facts and the trying to limit what I eat. I already eat my fruits and veggies, what more can I do to be healthy? I also need to figure out how to tell Aleksandr about this and Monica. I also wanted to tell you I finished my residency early and I was not signed to be a surgeon, so I'm fucked. I'm an unemployed cosmetic surgeon."

The blonde frowned and shook her head. "That fucking sucks. I'm sorry B, maybe you can freelance and open your own firm or practice."

"I was thinking about that but I don't know. I was going to talk about it with Dr. Banks but last time I talked to him shit was really awkward. He tried to kiss me." She ran her fingers through the fringe of her crop top and sighed. "I was flattered and if I hadn't been committed to Juice, I would have been all for an office fling."

"Wait! Dr. Fine Ass Captain Swole tried to kiss you and I'm just now hearing about this shit?" Jacey turned and looked at her best friend. "That's shit you should divulge when it happens! Did you tell Juice about this shit?"

Bri nodded. "Yeah, I told Juice. It was only right since he told me about you and him. I'm so upset about that because it'll never be a threesome opportunity! Jacey! This is sadness! At a whole new level!"

She shrugged. "We're sisters, we can't have an incestous relationship anyways." She flashed a creepy grin and laughed. "Your sex drive is going haywire, isn't it?"

"Maybe." Bri shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a little over a month and all I can think about is having sex with Juice… Morning, noon, night. I just want ihm. He's hardly around anymore, the club has him busy this week. I had to use toys!"

Jacey scoffed. "Relax, it's going to get so much worse… You need to take a few deep breaths and distract yourself with something else. How about a hobby? You can draw right? Maybe you can design yourself tattoos for after the baby. Or you can take up gardening or better yet just be a stay at home mom who carts Monica to and from school, lessons, and practice."

The brunette rolled her eyes and sighed. "I have to tell Aleksandr that I'm not gonna be working as a surgeon. He's going to kill me! More so about that than this Nolan situation." She poked at her stomach and smiled. "I have already decided, I'm going to be one of those pregnant women who wear dresses all the time to showcase the tits and baby bump."

"Don't you showcase them enough?" She pointed at the low cut top Bri was wearing. "They're falling out right now.

Bri looked down and shrugged. "It's not my fault that my tits migrate out of their habitat. I don't think I bothered to wear a bra today though." She rubbed her hands over her shirt and nodded. "I definitely don't have a bra on. I'm scatterbrained as fuck, I have to see my therapist."

"You don't need a therapist, you can talk to me."Jacey sat down and rubbed her belly slowly. "What's wrong?"

"Finding this being sober shit to be really hard… I'm stressing so badly about telling Aleksandr that I don't have a job to go to. I've basically wasted a quarter of a million dollars or however much school was. I don't even remember but it was fucking expensive." The brunette bounced her foot up and down. "I need a drink."

Jacey shook her head. "Can't, have to be a good mom to Nolan and stay sober. You'd hate yourself for slipping up and drinking and harming him."

Bri closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know! I just need to stay strong but it's hard. It was easier to be sober in Vegas. I don't even know why!"

"You need to chill." The blonde sighed. "Your hormones are just going insane Bri. You'll be fine when it passes."

"It didn't' affect me the first time." Bri shook her head as she tapped on her stomach. "I hope Juice will be good with doing this one more time, then he's getting snipped."

"One more? You're insane, I'm pretty set on Cupcake being the one and only." Jacey smiled. "She's all I'll need."

"I want another daughter." Bri smiled. "I already have a dope ass Gypsy name picked out for her and everything. Don't look at me that way! When I even thought I could be pregnant, I looked up names. It's going to be magical. I can see it. First, I have to get through telling Aleksandr everything."

"Everything will be fine." Jacey squeezed her hand and smiled. "I'll go with you when you talk to him, if it'll make you feel better."

"Nah, I have to break the news to him on my own. Twenty five and I'm afraid of disappointing the man still. I don't want him to be disappointed, I can handle him being mad, angry, pissed, just not disappointed." Bri pulled a pack of skittles from her pocket and tore it open. "I just have to man up and let him know sooner rather than later. He always knows shit before I even get a chance to tell him. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about this whole pregnancy already." She stood up from the seat and stretched. "I have to head out, gotta clean out my office at work because it is no longer my office. It's a sad ass day, now I see why people who get degrees complain about the degrees not landing them jobs."

"Put on a damn bra and better shirt before you go there B." The blonde turned her attention back to her cameras. "I'll be around if you want to talk some more. I can tell you have a lot more on that mind of yours."

"Fuck wearing a bra and bigger shirt. I'm gonna flaunt all of this while I still got it. Hard nipples and all." Bri nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow, we can talk more then."


	27. Chapter 27 Talks

**October 2, 2008**

Bri sighed as she looked at the contents of her old office piled into her home office. She had been avoiding being in her office for the past few days because the sight crushed her soul. She had worked her ass off to get where she wanted to be, through all the late nights and nonstop shifts she had managed to complete her residency early but without securing a job. The thought of being an unemployed surgeon made her cry each time. "Fuck my life." She groaned as she trailed her fingers over the glass desk she cherished so much.

"You okay?" Aleksandr stood in the doorway and watched the young woman before stepping all the way inside of the office and closing the door behind him. "I got your message, saying you needed to talk with me. What's wrong my dear?"

Bri looked at him and instantly broke into tears. "I finished my residency but I didn't get a job. Dr. Banks tried to kiss me and I wasn't having that shit. Now, I'm without a job and I don't like the thought of having wasted all my time and money going to school to be a surgeon and having nothing to show for it but a degree and old scrubs." She threw herself into his arms and sniffled. "Please don't be disappointed in me."

He frowned and rubbed her back. "I'm not disappointed my love. Things like this happened, I'm proud that you finished what you started. I don't think that job was right for you, I think you deserve to work somewhere better and where a pervert won't try to kiss you. I do think we need to have a party, something small to celebrate the fact you're finished with it all for the time being. Now, you can relax a bit and then we'll worry about finding you a job later."

The brunette looked up at him and nodded slowly. "I don't want a party. It's not that big of a deal Aleksandr, I was just looking forward to working with Dr. Banks before he went all perverted. He was sort of cool… I cannot believe I was dumb enough to believe he wanted to work with me because of my skills."

He sighed. "It's a big deal to me, I want to do something for you. I won't have a party for you but I'll get you a gift. I'll also have Dr. Banks handled, I don't like the fact that he harassed you. I'll pay him a visit later. You don't need to cry, something better will come from this." He pointed to her desk and smirked. "I'll never get your obsession with glass desks."

"It's not an obsession necessarily. I just like the look of them, they pretty much fit in with any decor and color." Bri looked at the two glass desks and smiled. "They look pretty damn perfect in this space don't you think?"

Aleksandr shrugged. "I have no real opinion on the matter. I just know that you love them and I guess I'm fine with that."

"Typical man." The brunette wiped her face clean and sighed. "I do want to talk with you about Juice and all the little shit you have him doing to prove himself."

He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it, it's nothing serious. I'm not having him do shit that's outside of his wheelhouse, he's a fucking outlaw. What we do isn't half as bad as what his club does."

Bri furrowed her brows. "That's the thing, this whole life isn't Juice. He's not a hardened criminal, unlike the others, he still has a conscience, one that wreaks havoc on him. He can't just go around killing or hurting people without a legitimate reason. So, if you must keep sending him off in the middle of the night with Frey, I suggest you tell him, he's doing what he's doing to keep me safe or some shit. Don't make it about him proving himself…"

Aleksandr smiled. "I get it Katarzyna, he's got a heart. I don't make it about him proving himself. It's the other guys that want to see how he handles pressure and all of that. He's bound to be the head of this family, he needs to earn the respect, just like you had to do. You didn't just show up one day and have a gaggle of men calling you boss, you earned the title. You are a formidable leader and everyone will be sad to see you go."

"Ugh! You're making it sound like I'm deserting my family! It's not like that, I love it so much. I love the guys, I just don't like the problems the family tends to get into and I'm trying my hardest to stay away from that aspect." She sat on the end of the desk and sighed. "Just keep him safe, that's all I want."

"I'll keep him safe. I'm going to go procure you a present." He hugged the brunette briefly. "Behave Brianna, I don't want you getting into shit just because you don't have the responsibility of going to work."

Bri scoffed and followed after him. "I want you to behave, I don't need you getting arrested while you're _procuring_ a gift. I will behave. I'll probably go next door and bug Jacey about some shit possibly. I don't know, I'm thinking of seeing if she wants to do a day trip to the beach. A sort of redo for the Malibu fiasco."

Aleksandr nodded and pulled out his wallet and passed the brunette a few bills. "I'm paying you to stay out of trouble… Don't go wandering next door, she's pregnant and hormonal, it just makes the two of you fight all the more. I think if anything you should hang out with Nikola and Svetlana, take those two on a day trip to the beach."

She paused and looked at the cash in her hands. "I don't wanna hang out with them, they're so mean to me about the whole Jacey situation. I don't think they like her all that much and that really sucks because I want them to get along but they don't…" She trailed off as she folded the bills and shoved them into her back pocket. "Fine, don't look at me that way. I'll go play with Nik and Lana."

"Good." He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Don't be so bitter, I'll send you your appointment information for the therapist."

"I'm not bitter." Bri scowled and watched Aleksandr walk out of the front door before turning on her heels and walking into the kitchen. "I'm not bitter. I'm happy and I'm sober." She mumbled to herself as she walked into the pantry, her eyes on the boxes of fruit snacks she kept around for Monica. "I'm eating all of these…"

"You'll get fat eventually… So go ahead." Nikola smirked at her older sister as she eyed the colorful boxes of snacks. "I don't see how you could ignore eating these things, my favorite ones are the ones shaped like Hello Kitty." She grabbed the box off the shelf and started opening a few pouches.

The brunette eyed the blonde and smiled. "I like the Disney princess ones for some reason… I like to eat Ariel first." She grabbed her own box from the shelf and walked out behind Nik. "You wanna hang out today, maybe do something fun. Shop? Eat? Talk? I don't know, anything that'll take my mind of not being employed."

Nik nodded. "I'll hang out with you today, I have been meaning to talk to you about some shit anyways. No better way to talk about stuff than over a shopping trip. I'm in need of a new Louis anyway. I've been eyeing a red one and the store has one on reserve for me. I just need to go and pick it up. Get dressed and we'll go. I don't think they'll let you in wearing slippers and a raggedy ass crop top."

Bri laughed. "I don't think it looks that bad." She pulled on the fraying hem of her shirt and shrugged as she tossed away the empty fruit snack pouches. "Please tell me you've stopped being a stripper and have signed up to go to college."

"Yeah right. I mean I've stopped dancing but I am not going to college. That's not something I care to do, ever." She twisted her hair around her fingers and sighed. "Go change and I'll meet you at the car in fifteen minutes."

**SOA**

"I cannot believe I have this bad boy in my possession!" Nik eyed the red Louis Vuitton handbang and smiled. "I've worked so hard to buy this, unlike some people." She looked over to Bri who was watching the cashier bag her items. "Who even let you be in control of your own finances?"

Bri shrugged. "Why do people act like half a billion dollars is easy to blow through? It's not going anywhere. My cards stop working when I spend a hundred thousand, it's not like that's ever happened. Save, for one time but that was because I bought a car with my card. Dumb move, Aleksandr had a fit."

"I'm not dealing with you right now!" The blonde smacked her sister's arm. "I talked to Aleksandr the other day, a serious talk. He told me about you going to therapy, how's it working out for you? You making any progress?"

"I'm not making any progress with therapy, I go, I talk, I get angry, I end up crying and frustrated. There are only so many times I can tell the story about why I'm always angry these days. Do you know what it's like to always be there for someone but not have them return the favor?" She crossed her arms as she watched Nik shake her head slowly. "I'm tired of always being there for everyone and not have them be there for me. That's my beef with all of you guys."

Nik nodded as they walked out of the store. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever." Bri shook her head. "I'm not feeling so hot, I don't think I can keep shopping Nik. I think I may have to go to the doctor and see what's wrong."

"You're pregnant?" The blonde grabbed her sister's arm and looked at her closely. "How far along are you Bri?"

"Closing in on the two month mark but we've only known for a couple weeks now." Bri sat down on the edge of the fountain and sighed. "It's wreaking havoc on my physical, mental and emotional state Nik."

Nik smiled. "That explains a lot actually, because even totally sober Bri would have lived it up in Vegas more. Pregnant Bri was sick and miserable. How did it take me this long to figure it out? Does Svet know? Does Aleksandr know?"

She shook her head and frowned. "Only Jacey knows… You don't know because you're never around and Svet is always off fucking Frey. Aleksandr doesn't know but we're gonna tell him really soon. We just needed to wait until after my residency ended."

"I'm sorry Bri, for being a lousy sister." Nik shook her head. "I'll make it up to you though, try to be around more often. Maybe we can have a sleepover or something, a movie night."

"Sure." Bri nodded as she looked at her phone. "I have to go, I have an appointment in an hour. I'll see you at home."

**October 5, 2008 **

Juice stepped out of his clothes as he walked into the bedroom he now shared with Bri, he had a long day and an even longer night. Between the bullshit Jax had him doing and his bonding with Frey and all the other guys he was tired. All he wanted to do was slide into bed and cuddle with his girlfriend. "Bri." He felt around on the bed and frowned when he figured out it was empty. He looked at the clock and groaned, it was nearing three in the morning and she wasn't in bed. He sighed as he tugged on some black sweats and walked out of the room, checking Monica's room first and coming up empty once again before he made his way down stairs and into the media room.

"If you're looking for Bri, she's been gone all day." Aleksandr looked over to Juice from his spot on the sofa. "I think she needed some time, adjusting to the whole not working thing."

He shook his head. "Gone where?"

"I don't know." The man passed Juice a letter and shrugged. "It's what I found when I came home. Her and Monica were just packed up and gone."

Juice frowned and read over the letter, instinctively moving off the sofa. "I have to call her, see where she is. I don't like her being stressed out like this, it can't be good at all for her sanity." He jogged through the house and up into the bedroom, pulling his phone from his discarded jeans and dialing Bri.

"_Hello?" _

"Bri, where are you babe?" He was trying his hardest not to sound too worried but then again he couldn't help it. "What happened?"

"_I needed some time…" She yawned. "It's late babe, I need to go back to sleep." _

"Where are you Bri? Just tell me and I'll come and be with you and we can talk about what's on your mind. Please tell me." He paced the bedroom, hoping that she would cave and tell him but instead, she ended the call and when he called back it went straight to voicemail.

**SOA**

Juice eyed the black car he pulled next to, after a few long hours of his hacking skills he had found out where Bri was and hopped on his bike to track her down. Now, seeing her car he was feeling relieved. She was here and he had no plans on leaving until he knew she'd be coming back to him. "Bri! I know you're in here." He banged on the front door only to have it open viciously, causing him to lurch forward and almost face plant.

"I figured you'd hunt me down." Bri crossed her arms and looked at the man before her. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

He hugged her and walked them to the sofa before dropping down with her straddling his lap. "I can't leave you alone because you're my lady and you're having a baby. I don't know why you didn't just tell me you were leaving town… I know I haven't been around much but I'd still love to know that you're just up and leaving."

The brunette shook her head and glared at him. "It's a little fucking hard to tell you that I'm leaving for the weekend when you don't answer your phone. I don't care what you're doing, you should answer my calls."

Juice nodded and kissed her lips. "I'm sorry Bri, I was just busy handling what I needed to do. Sometimes I can't just stop and answer your call. Forgive me?"

"I forgive you." Bri shrugged and moved herself off of his lap and looked at him. "I just needed some time away from everyone, collect my thoughts."

"What is wrong? Besides the obvious not working right now? Do you not want to have the kid or what?" He rubbed her bare calves and looked at her. "Just talk to me, we used to be able to just tell each other shit back in the day."

"I want the baby." She smiled at him. "I don't really know what else is wrong, I'm just either always angry or I'm sad. I don't like to be either because I'm used to being happy all the damn time. I'm just trying to figure it all out and it's not working as fast as I need it to work."

Juice pulled her closer to him and shook his head. "I think you need to talk to Jacey, I think that's where the problem is. You guys can talk and smile all you want but there has to be some unspoken shit that you both need to say."

"No." She frowned. "I don't have anything to say to her that I haven't already said. I don't know if you realize what it feels like to have your best friend set you up with a person they've slept with then neglect to mention that little fact."

"Is it that big of a deal?" He frowned as he rubbed her arms. "She had good intentions with the whole setting us up thing… Even if we already knew each other."

"Would you want Chibs to set you up with someone he's fucked?" Bri moved off the sofa. "I really don't want to talk anymore. I do enough of this shit in therapy. All I wanna do is sit in the sun and work on my tan."

Juice followed her out the sliding door and onto the sand. "Whose beach house is this anyway?" He watched her as she dropped her cover up, revealing a gold and white bikini that didn't cover much. "Where's the rest of that suit?"

"Mine." She adjusted her bottoms and shrugged. "It's a cute suit. You don't like it?"

"I love it." He wrapped an arm around her and dropped to the sand, situating her between his legs. "It just doesn't cover your ass completely, I think you have it on backwards."

"I don't have it on backwards." She rested her head back against him. "I hate that I can't handle stress the way I used to. I mean, I have to see a therapist to help me deal with all this shit and I don't have any idea of who to direct my anger to. I guess I am just angry at myself for always ending up in stupid ass situations but then I can't help the fact that I always want to help the people I love."

Juice squeezed her boobs and laughed when she swatted his hands away. "I had to! They're just sitting there, begging to be squeezed babe… I think you'll learn how to deal with it again. I think you'll be able to handle it all, you just have everything coming at you at one time. A baby, a friendship that isn't as solid as it once was, a boyfriend who keeps disappearing on you because of club shit, a best friend named Happy who doesn't want anything to do with you but puts up with you for the sake of his girlfriend and Monica."

Bri laughed. "Happy is cool, I don't expect too much out of that friendship but it's all good with me these days. As for the boyfriend thing, I can understand but I wish he'd go get a normal geeky computer job."

"The boyfriend is staying an outlaw." He kissed her cheek and smiled. "Sorry about it babe. I can pretend to have a normal geeky computer job though, if it'll make you feel better. I can just say I've been working late, getting a security system built for the company."

She shook her head. "That's really cute but I'd just assume the boyfriend is lying and is having a sleazy office affair with the Russian secretary, I think her name is Brianna or is it Bianca?"

"No, no. Brianna is my pregnant girlfriend. Katarzyna is the Russian secretary I'm having the sleazy affair with. I can't help myself, she's always wearing those sexy skirt and blouse numbers. She always looks like she stepped out of a porn scene." He laughed and shrugged. "You always look so damn good in your work clothes."

Bri nodded. "So I've been told… I wonder if Monica is awake yet. She splashed around in the water until I had to physically carry her out because she was so damn tired."

Juice shook his head and tugged on the strings of her flimsy bikini top. "I think we need to splash around in the ocean..."

"I don't wanna go into the water!" She shook her head and didn't allow her top to fall down. "You're not even dressed her it, plus I'm trying to relax."

He stood up and quickly stripped down to his boxers and smiled. "I'm ready to go splash around in the ocean." He tugged her up by her hands and smiled even wider as her top fell. "I am gonna treat you like you're the little mermaid."

"I hate that bitch." Bri tried to dig her feet into the sand to keep from getting dragged closer to the water. "No! No! Babe!"

Juice tossed her into the water and laughed as she popped up and glared at him. "What? You have to be wet before the fun begins anyway…"

"You're dumb!" She shook her head and linked her fingers with his. "I didn't wanna get in the water."

He kissed her nose and rubbed her hips. "It's not the end of the world, you look good all wet and glistening babe."

Bri rolled her eyes. "You're lucky I love you."

**October 8, 2008 **

Bri groaned as she walked into her house, she had wanted to stay forever at the beach house but because of Monica being in school, she was only able to get away for the weekend. Now, being back in Oakland, she felt a weight on her shoulders. This wasn't really home anymore, in fact it hadn't really felt like home since she arrived back a few months prior. She dropped her bags in the middle of the foyer and hoped they'd magically appear back in her bedroom once everything was washed and folded nicely. "I'm home." She mumbled to no one in particular as she walked into the kitchen, her grey eyes landing on the liquor cabinet that was calling her name. "No liquor."

"Not good to talk to yourself." Aleksandr smiled at Bri as he walked towards her, giving her a big hug. "I got you a gift." He pulled a small bag from his suit pocket and passed it to her. "I hope you love it."

She carefully pulled the gift from the bag, turning the little blue velvet ring box around in her hands before opening it and examining the ring. "I fucking love it dad." She hugged him and pulled away to look at the giant heart shaped red diamond. "It's fucking gorgeous! Oh my God." She slipped it onto her finger and smiled at it. "I can't believe it, this must of cost a fortune. I love it."

He smiled at her, feeling wonderful that she allowed herself to call him dad. That was a rare occurrence these days. "It's for finishing up school despite all the troubles you had to go through. You never gave up, you deserve this my dear. I just need you to always know that I'm proud of you. If you are working or not, I'll always be proud as long as you never give up on chasing your goals and dreams." He kissed her forehead and hugged her again. "I love you Katarzyna."

"I love you too." She tightened her arms around him as much as she could before looking up at him. "I have to tell you something though, I was going to wait to tell you when Juice was around but I feel so bad about keeping it from you… It may make you take back what you just said though."

"Did you marry him while you were in Vegas?" Aleksandr looked down at her, trying to read her expression.

Bri shook her head. "No, almost did but it didn't feel right because you weren't there. I didn't have my actual family… I am pregnant."

He smirked. "I figured that much." He held her away from him and shrugged. "You thought I would get upset about that? You obviously don't know me too well."

"I thought you'd get upset because it would ruin my residency and the job but now I don't have either and I'm having Juice's kid and that's something I've always wanted since I first started dating him way back when. I'm just so scared and stressed out and I don't even fucking know why!" She continued to stare at him as she felt the first hot tear roll down her cheek.

Aleksandr frowned as he walked the upset brunette outside and towards the garden. "Hey, you need to breathe and relax. I don't know why you're this emotional… You have nothing to be stressed about, you have nothing to be scared of. You have my support in this and I need you to know that this pregnancy will be nothing like the one you went through with Monica. This is a happy occasion, this is the time you get to shop and decorate a nursery. You get to keep and raise this child, you don't have to say goodbye to this one only to have the child in and out of your life like you did with Monica. Don't be afraid, you'll be a great mother." He hugged her and lightly rubbed her back, feeling her relax in his embrace. "Everything will be amazing this time around."

Bri nodded, happy he seemed to know what to say to take the weight off her shoulders and to ease her mind. She had no idea that her feelings were linked to the first pregnancy and adoption but it all made sense to her now. "You think so?"

"Yes." He nodded. "You'll be an amazing mom. It'll be a welcomed addition to this family, I'm sure you'll have to deal with a little jealous Monica but it's nothing that we can't all overcome. So are you hoping for a girl or a boy?"

"A boy, I've already named him Nolan." She smiled at him before looking at the rose bushes. "I do want another daughter in the future though but for now I just want Moni and a little baby boy named Nolan who loves me to death."

Aleksandr smiled. "You'll probably end up with a girl just for wishing for a boy… I watched your mom wish for a boy while she was pregnant with you but you turned out to be a gorgeous chubby little girl with a head full of light brown hair."

"Love at first sight? You were like, that little girl. Little Katarzyna is my daughter, I'm devoting my life to protecting her and doing the best I can to make sure she doesn't fuck up her life beyond repair?" Bri sat on the bench and smiled up at him. "I can never express to you how grateful I am to have been blessed with you as my caregiver. You are more of a dad to me than my own and the same goes for Ingrid, she's more of a mom to me than my own. I don't know where I would have ended up without having the both of you in my life."

"Definitely love at first sight." He sat down next to her and nodded. "I've never been more willing to lay my life on the line for anyone. I take pride in what I've done to steer you as best as I could to the right path. We've encountered some detours but nothing you haven't made it out of. I hope that I'll be able to do the same for your children while I am able to. Starting with Monica, that girl is a hot mess."

The brunette laughed. "I know she is. She's going to need all the help you have to give her, she reminds me so much of myself from when I was six. Just a little bobblehead monster, bouncing from hobby to hobby, spending my free time with grown Russian men, learning everything that I shouldn't have been learning."

Aleksandr chuckled. "It's a pleasant comparison. I enjoy spending time with her, especially when she slips up and calls me grandpa."

"I remember the first time I called you dad, my actual dad wanted to beat my ass." Bri frowned and shook her head. "You protected me though."

"I had to, you were eight." He shrugged. "I have to head to the airport, my brother is coming for a visit. Wish me luck." He kissed her forehead and stood up. "Relax, for me, for the baby. You have nothing to stress about."

She smiled and watched him walk away before looking down at the heart shaped diamond. The stress from the past few weeks slipped away slowly. "I'm going to be an amazing mom." She rested her hand on her still flat stomach and exhaled. "Nolan, if you're not a boy after all, I hope you like the name Inari, it's unique and different but I'm hoping you're a boy but I'll love you regardless."


	28. Chapter 28 Excitement

**October 17, 2008 **

"Happy." Monica looked over at him as she tried to focus on her coloring book. "How come you draw pictures but I have to color already drawn pictures?" She tapped a tiny finger on his sketchbook and shook her head. "Doesn't seem right at all."

Happy smirked at her and shrugged. "You can draw kid?"

"I can draw cats and hats." She pushed her headband back to keep her hair out of her face. "Can you draw me? Then I'll get it tattooed on my arm."

He nodded. "I'll draw you but you're too young to get a tattoo… I can give you a fake one though if your mom doesn't mind. Gotta ask her though."

Monica frowned. "Do we _have_ to ask her? I don't think she'd care!" The six year old rummaged around through her tin box of crayons and markers. "Please Hap? We can just draw a tiny flower tattoo on my arm!"

Happy nodded and smirked, setting down his pencil and picking up a thin purple marker from her pile. "Alright kid but don't get me in trouble because you wanted some ink." He grabbed her arm and drew a quick stream of flowers around her wrist and smiled. "You're all inked and ready to go."

"I love it! So pretty." She twisted her wrist around and smiled. "Now, can I talk you into drawing me a snake and skull like the one my mommy has on her back?"

He shook his head. "I can't because I've never seen it." He picked up a black marker and started to draw a happy face on her. "I can draw you happy faces and more flowers but I can't do the skull and snake until I see it."

"Are you excited to be a daddy?" Monica watched him draw on her arm.

"Yeah, I'm excited for my girl to get here." Happy nodded slowly. "Are you excited to be getting a new little friend to play with?"

"Nope! She's gonna take you away from me." She shook her head and tugged on her hair and frowned. "My mommy is having a baby too, she's so grumpy about it all."

He chuckled. "I ain't gonna forget about ya kid. You're still my favorite Russian."

Monica smiled. "You say that now but who even knows…"

Happy paused, looking at the green eyed little girl. Wondering how she sounded more grown than she actually was. "I'll still hang out with you… I promise."

She nodded and looked down at her arm and smiled. "Can I have some diamonds and hearts on my arm now? Maybe a moth?"

"I can do all of that. How's school?" He looked down at the box of markers, grabbing a brown marker to start on the moth. "Someone said you had a boyfriend."

"No, we broke up. He wouldn't share his pudding cup with me. I just wanted a little bite and he told me no." Monica wrinkled her nose up and rolled her eyes. "School is fun, the girls are so mean to me though."

Happy smirked. "He sounds like a loser… Why are they being mean to you? You tossing your hair around and acting prissy like your mom?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No! I'm not being prissy! I got picked to be leader and the other girl who didn't win got mad and not her friends don't like me."

"You're in kindergarten, how the hell is there drama already? Jesus." He shook his head and ran a hand over his face. "I don't wanna send my kid to school."

"I'm not in kindergarten, I'm in the first grade." She looked at him. "Mom says wherever there are girls there is gonna be drama and trouble."

Happy smirked. "I thought you were six, aren't six year olds supposed to be in kindergarten? I finally agree with something Bri says. Go figure."

"I'm closer to seven than I am to six." Monica smiled. "Are you going to come trick or treating with me? I'm going to dress up like Mary, Queen of Scots."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. I think I have to spend the night with Jacey and taking care of her… You can stop by though, maybe I'll have candy or something for you."

"Fine." She smiled and slid off the stool. "I think I'm ready to go home now. I wanna show Aleksandr my ink! He's gonna loooove it!" She sang as she twirled around before stopping and gathering up her things and dropping them into her backpack. "I'm going to get a real tattoo from you when I'm eighteen, it's going to be awesome!"

Happy smirked. "I ain't gonna tattoo anything dumb on you when you're eighteen, so make sure it means something to you." He grabbed her hand and walked out of the studio with her. "If anyone gets made for the ink, tell them Jacey did it."

The brunette nodded as they walked out of the house. "I think you'll be a cool dad! The Cupcake is gonna love you! She's gonna always get free ink." She stitched her brows together as they walked out of the gate towards her house.

He nodded as he rang the doorbell. "Feel free to come over whenever but call first." He shook his head as Bri answered the door. "Do you not own clothes?"

"It's California, it's almost a hundred outside. I'm in a bikini because I was getting ready to go swimming." Bri shook her head and stepped to the side to allow Monica to walk in past her. "You're more than welcome to come in for a lemonade before you head back home. We have child friendly lemonade and adult lemonade."

Happy shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. I gotta get back home and check on Jacey." He watched her turn her back to him slightly.

"Yeah? Alright." The brunette shrugged and looked back at him. "Thanks for watching her, she kept complaining about not having her best friend."

"No problem, priss." He shook his head. "I'll catch you around."

Bri nodded. "Bye, meanie face. If you change your mind, you can come back over and bring Jacey. We'll be hanging out around the pool."

**SOA**

"Babe." Juice wrapped his arm around Bri's shoulders and smiled against her neck. "I see you found a bigger bikini than the one you wore at the beach."

"Just for you." She shrugged and pulled out of his embrace and smiled at him. "You coming out here to swim in that? Or are you about to tell me that you're leaving to handle some club business Juan?"

He winced at her using his name. "It's just for a few hours, Jax needs me to hack into some security system. I'm sorry babe."

"Alright." Bri nodded and backed away from him "I'll be here whenever you actually come back home." She moved towards the pool and jumped back in, knowing he wouldn't come after her. "Bye."

"I love you." He tried to grab her attention again. "Come here, I don't wanna leave you when you're mad at me babe…"

"I'm not mad, go do your club business Juice." The brunette submerged herself underwater.

He laid flat on the ground and caught her arm, softly pulling her towards him. "Come on Brianna. I know you're pissed off right now. I'm sorry I have to leave you right now."

"I don't care if you leave or not… Just let me enjoy the water." Bri pushed away from him. "Go do your outlaw shit."

Juice groaned. "You act like you didn't know I'd have to leave you at weird times! It's what I do Bri, you can't give me shit for doing what I'm supposed to be doing! It's fucking pointless for you to get mad every damn time I have to go handle club shit."

"Well, excuse me for wanting my _boyfriend_ to be around while I'm going through all these weird ass emotions." She lifted herself out of the pool and grabbed a towel. "How about you don't come back here, you can sleep at the clubhouse or your home. I don't wanna deal with this! I don't _have_ to deal with this!"

He shook his head and followed after her. "Bri, come on! Are you serious right now?" He paused at the foot of the stairs and looked up at her.

"Yeah, I'm fucking serious right now. Don't come back here tonight, if you do, you'll be answering to Aleksandrs brother!" Bri stomped up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Juice frowned and jogged up the stairs behind her, pausing at the bedroom door before walking into it to see the brunette face down on her bed. "Babe, I'm sorry." He rested his head on her back and sighed. "I thought this would be easier to juggle. I didn't think I'd be getting called to do so much club shit. Just talk to me, please."

"I don't wanna talk." She turned her head to look out the big wall of windows. "I just wanna lay here and mope around until you get back in a _few_ days."

He sighed. "I'm coming _home_ later… I don't care if I gotta try to go through the biggest Russian I've laid eyes on… I'll come back here and I'll break into this room and I'll cuddle you and the baby. That's what I'm going to do."

"You're so stubborn." Bri laughed and pushed his head off of her. "Go do your club shit. I'll see you later then weirdo. I love you."

Juice smiled. "I love you too." He leaned over and kissed her. "Keep my side of the bed warm too."

**SOA**

Bri moved through the house, trying her best not to make any noises as she made her way to the kitchen to quelch another weird early morning craving. She had fallen asleep waiting for Juice to come home and as it now neared four in the morning she was completely sure he wouldn't be walking into the house until after the sun was up. "I don't see why you needed pickles this damn early in the morning." She grabbed a jar from the fridge and grabbed a fork as she sat at the island, slowly swiveling back in forth on the bar stool.

"You make it a habit of creeping in the kitchen at odd hours?" Frey looked at the brunette as he pulled open the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Cravings." She waved the jar of pickles around before looking at the man. "You make it a habit of creeping around with your boss' best friend?"

He smirked and shrugged. "Touche… Where's your little douchebag looking boyfriend at?"

"Who knows?" Bri set the jar of pickles down and slid off of the stool and walked back to the fridge. "You want some cold pizza? It tastes amazing this early in the morning." She pulled a pizza box out and dropped it onto the counter before grabbing a bottle of ranch dressing and a container of garlic butter. "You dip it into the warm garlic butter and it makes for an amazing ass snack."

Frey nodded watching the brunette carefully as she heated up the garlic butter. "Are you aware that you don't have any actual pants on?"

She looked down and shrugged as she set the butter on the counter. "I wasn't expecting to run into anyone down here. I didn't even know Svetlana or you were here. Aleksandr and the guys went off on some mission, Nik is asleep in Monica's room. They were watching some movie." She grabbed a few slices of pizza and dropped them on a napkin. "If my lower half offends you, don't look at it."

"I don't think any half of you would ever offend me." He watched her take a bite before grabbing a slice of his own. "Don't eat all of the pizza… I'm a slow eater."

"I'm not gonna eat it all… I promise, I'm only going to eat the five slices I have out." Bri laughed and dipped her crust into the butter. "I could live off pizza but I don't wanna be one of those huge ass pregnant women."

The man laughed. "You're like twenty five, if you got fat you'd be able to lose all the weight quickly. Eat whatever you want. I'm not gonna stop you."

"I'd fire you if you tried to keep me from eating what I wanted." She turned at the sound of heavy footsteps. "Must be the douchebag." She turned back to Frey and smirked.

"It is…" He looked to Juice before looking back at Bri. "I was thinking that we need to do some employee retreat, Vegas was amazing but I need to go to the beach and surf."

Bri smiled and nodded. "I do have a few bikinis I want to wear before I get too big for them… We'll have to talk more about it."

Frey nodded. "Yeah, maybe over pizza and ice cream."

"Hey." Juice finally spoke as he pressed his chest against Bri's back. "I'm sorry that I'm getting in so late…"

"It's fine." She shook her head and twisted around to look at him. "You look like you've been doing more than just working on security systems." She pointed to the small cuts and bruises on his face. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "We got into it with some Russians and it didn't go well."

Frey laughed. "You got your ass kicked by a Russian? You're supposed to be _our_ next leader and you're getting beat up by a group of ragtag Russians?"

Juice groaned. "We got jumped, it wasn't something we saw coming." He moved to the fridge and opened the freezer, grabbing a bag of peas. "You should really still be in bed though Bri, not up eating pizza."

"Tell it to the baby! He was like I want pickles! Then I remembered there was pizza so I'm here, introducing Frey to the life of cold pizza at four in the morning." Bri shrugged. "I had no one to fetch me my cravings so I had to do it myself."

He frowned and pulled her off the stool. "I'll be here next time, I don't have to do anything for a few days… Wanna head back to bed?"

"Yeah but you're going to need to shower first. You smell like motor oil and blood babe." She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "I'll see you later Frey! Don't eat all the pizza, I'll probably want some for my after breakfast snack."

"I think we should get you some longer shirts or some comfortable sleep pants." Juice watched Bri walk up the stairs and smiled. "I don't want any of these dudes who work for you to see your ass…"

She crawled into the bed and yawned. "Pretty sure they've all seen my ass already… I was a wild little thing between the ages of nineteen and up until we got serious."

"I wanna know all the stories when we have the time and aren't sleepy." He shook his head and started to undress. "I'll make the shower quick."

Bri smiled. "I'll shower with you." She pulled her shirt off and slipped out of her panties before bouncing off the bed and following him into their bathroom.

"You didn't have to follow me into the shower." Juice looked down slightly at the brunette. "I would have been out in five minutes."

"Yeah? Well I probably would have been asleep in five minutes." She shook her head as the water rained down on them in warm streams. "You look so damn tired."

"I feel tired." He closed his eyes as he felt her rub the loofah over his chest in slow circles. "You can't go slow, I'll fall asleep standing up." He opened his eyes and looked down at her and smiled. "I'll do it, you just stand there and look good."

Bri shrugged. "I was so thinking this would turn into steamy shower sex but I'm so tired and you can barely keep your eyes open." She laughed and started to wipe down his face. "I'll bandage you up when we get out of here… I think we have black bandages around here."

Juice laughed. "I was thinking the same thing…" He rinsed off and turned off the water and grabbed two towels, wrapping the brunette up before doing the same to himself. "I don't need a bandage, it's nothing serious." He toweled off before tugging on a pair of boxers, tossing Bri one of his shirts as she dropped her towel and piled her hair on top of her head. "I cannot wait for you to start showing."

"I'm excited to get the baby bump. I will show it off proudly." She laughed and cuddled up next to him. "I love you babe."

"I love you too." He kissed her face and reached over to turn the lights off.

**October 22, 2008**

Juice wrapped an arm around Bri as they walked towards the doctor's office. It was their monthly appointment, something he had insisted on having much to the gorgeous brunette's dismay. He was excited to be involved with everything pregnancy related, now he wanted the token ultrasound pictures, one he would carry around with him everywhere he went. He would keep it safely tucked into his wallet along with the picture he kept of a fifteen year old Bri and the current twenty five year old Bri. "I'm excited."

"I can tell." She shook her head and hid a smile. "I think it's cute that you're more into this whole thing than I am."

He kissed her cheek and wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her head against his chest and smirked. "You're like pretty much finished with your first trimester Bri. We have to take this shit very seriously, maybe we can go to the baby store after this and look at furniture sets. I've been saving up and it's only right that I blow my savings on my kid."

Bri nodded. "I'm all for baby furniture shopping babe." She rubbed his side and smiled. "I'm not all about this whole being nearly three months in, we only found out about it about a month ago."

"We're gonna get black furniture, we're gonna paint the room the color of your eyes because I think that'd look pretty dope and we can do some type of mural on the wall. Maybe we can write Ortiz on the wall… That is if you're giving him my last name still…" He sat down as he watched her begin to fill out the questionnaire on the clipboard the receptionist had given her. "Why do you have to fill that shit out?"

"Because it's asking about both parents." She tapped the the piece of paper and angled it at him. "See, parents names, any medical history… It helps them with figuring out if there is anything the baby could be genetically predisposed to. Yes, the child's last name will be Oritz."

Juice smiled proudly, taking the clipboard from his girlfriend as he tried his best to fill out his part of the paperwork. "You think I need to put down how my mom passed? Cancer is no joke…"

Bri frowned. "I don't think so, I'm not too sure it affects you or the child. I think it's more of genetic disorders, heart problems and things like that. I wish I would have paid more attention to this part of medical school and not the other parts. Cool thing is, I can put Dr. Hohrykova down on everything instead of Miss Hohrykova."

He nodded. "Is OCD a thing that can be passed on? I'm putting it down anyway under mental disorders." He smirked as he signed his name. "I can't believe we're doing baby appointments together. I remember when we talked about having a kid but now it's finally happening."

She laughed. "We swore we were gonna be together forever and have four kids and three dogs and live in Manhattan… Shit changed really quick for us after that moment."

Juice frowned. "Yeah, it really did." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "This time around will be so much better. I've really matured."

"Says the man that's currently wearing Super Mario boxers." Bri laughed and kissed his cheek. "I love you the way you are now… I think you need to keep the certain level of immaturity you possess, it'll keep you sane and you'll be able to get along even better with the kid. In six years you'll have a sidekick to play video games with."

He nodded eagerly. "You'll be pregnant with our daughter by then, maybe even already had her."

"Let's just focus on the kid I'm still baking." She stood up as her name was called. "Come on babe, this is the moment you've been waiting for."

"Haven't been able to say I've had the pleasure of helping a doctor before. I'm Nany, I'll be the tech for the whole pregnancy. Everytime you come in for a visit, it'll be me helping you alongside Dr. Carver." The pretty brunette smiled at the couple before walking them into a spacious exam room. "You can just have a seat, I'm sure you know the drill, just like you're having a regular, good ol' examination Dr. Hohrykova."

Juice smiled and took his seat next to Bri as she laid back on the exam table. "I can't believe this, I cannot wait to hear the heartbeat…"

Nany smiled. "First time dad?"

"Yup." He bounced his knees up and down and smiled at her before looking to Bri and grabbing a tight hold on her hand. "How much longer do we need to wait until we find out the gender?"

"It's going to depend on how far along she is but usually we can identify the gender between fourteen and twenty four weeks. It depends on if the baby wants to cooperate or if he or she is shy and doesn't wanna let us see it's good." Nany smiled as she began to apply the warm gel to Bri's stomach.

Bri smiled at Juice as the heartbeat started to fill the room. "Sounds really strong." She smiled at him before turning her gaze to the screen. "Can't tell much at all."

"Looks like a blob." Juice laughed as he looked at the screen. "I'll take a few pictures of the blob though."

"Looks like you're about twelve weeks." Nany smiled at Bri. "Does that seem about right to you?"

The brunette shrugged. "When we found out I was pregnant, I was about seven weeks along. So it seems about right, because it was about a month ago."

"I don't get how you count the weeks…" Juice looked between both women and frowned.

"You count it from her last day of her last menstrual cycle, so if she had a period that ended August 1, she'd be due in May. That's what we're going with here, it may adjust but from the development of the baby, we're about right with how far along she is." Nany smiled at the couple. "I'm going to print off the pictures then the doctor will be in here to speak with you in case you have any questions."

Bri watched Juice accept the black and white pictures and smiled. "At least we know it's your kid for sure."

He smirked and nodded. "I never had any doubt about it babe… Look! It has weird looking fingers! It's a damn boy, I can tell already." He passed her the length of pictures. "I have so many questions."

"That' good." Dr. Carver smiled as she walked into the room. "What's your first question?"

Juice looked at Bri who rolled her eyes. "How much weight is a healthy amount for her to gain? I know she wants to eat everything in sight some days and other days she's very aware of what she's actually eating."

"She's healthy, so about five pounds the first trimester and a pound a week for the remainder of the pregnancy, so she should only be up by thirty-five pounds when it's all said and done but it really depends on how much she gives into the unhealthy cravings." Dr. Carver smiled at Bri who was know sitting up and looking at Juice. "Do you have any questions?"

"Is it normal for me to be angry all the time? I'm easily angered and I know I have whacky emotions and hormones but any little thing pisses me the hell off." Bri sighed. "I got mad on the way over here, threw my smoothie at a person on a bike for not riding in the actual bike lane that was painted on the ground."

The doctor laughed. "It's normal to be this moody. I'm not going to lie and tell you that it gets better because it'll be a whole lot worse before it calms down. I would just suggest that you try to stay away from any stressors. Try to relax, keep in mind that you can't go around assaulting bikers with smoothies."

Juice nodded. "I have a typical guy question… We can still have sex right?"

"Yes, as she gets bigger you'll have to change up the positions to accommodate her belly but it's not going to hurt the baby. I would say if she has any cramping after sex at any point of the pregnancy to come in for a checkup." Dr. Carver smiled.

Bri shook her head. "I think that we can go now, I am really hungry and want some Chipotle." She slid off the table and adjusted her jeans. "Thanks Dr. Carver."

He stood up and shook the doctor's hand. "When she's hungry, she's hungry and you can't change her mind about it."

**SOA**

"What about that set?" Juice looked at the cribs in front of them. "I can't decide, why is there so many options for baby shit?" He looked at the price tags on the three sets they had narrowed it down to. "These are priced cheaper than I expected 'em to be."

Bri sipped her water and shrugged. "I like the one that comes with everything. The crib, changing table, dressers and glider… It's the best value because the crib turns into a toddler bed." She pointed at the set. "It's a good price plus it's black. Isn't that what we were going for?"

"Let me look this set up on Google. I don't want to get a set that has recalls on it." He pulled out his phone and started to research the bedroom set. "We can get it, it's got a shit ton of amazing reviews and no recalls."

"I'm excited to watch you put all this shit together." The brunette smirked as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, resting her face against his back. "At least black will be cute in case Nolan is a girl… It's all gender neutral shit these days. I do want to go look at the swings and bouncers, start a registry or something. In case I decide I want a baby shower."

Juice turned around and hugged her tightly to him. "You don't want a baby shower? I thought women loved baby showers, like isn't that the highlight of the pregnancy besides the actual giving birth part?"

"Not for people with money…" Bri wrinkled her brow and shrugged. "We can afford to buy everything we need right now."

"Oh yeah." He frowned. "I say we buy the big things like the furniture and stroller carseat combo thingy. Then we can leave clothes for the family. It's a thought but it could work. Let's get this set and go look at the car seats and strollers. I seen this cool one, it turns into a stroller, like the it folds down into the carrier that fits in the car and when you take it out, bam it's a stroller. It cannot get more simple than that."

She nodded. "That sounds expensive, I want four of them." She laughed as they walked over to the strollers and paused at the bright orange one. "Keep walking, pretend you didn't see it Juan Carlos."

"But babe…" Juice walked around her and to the display. "It's a Harley set! You know we need it! I don't care about the other one anymore, I will do the extra steps to grab the stroller and connect the carrier. I want this one! Please?" He made a puppy dog face at her and pressed his hands together. "Please!"

"It's your money get it if you want… I will pick the one that I want." Bri kissed him and smiled. "We can be one of those couples that have a million different strollers because we're too ditzy to just have one." She looked at the selection of strollers and smiled. "I found the one you were talking about babe."

He smirked as he pushed a box towards her. "I don't think I should be allowed to baby shop. I'm too excited for this… Is that the color you want?"

"Yeah it is… I like the whole black theme we have going." She tapped on the box before looking up at the display. "I want this one but I also want a jogger. So, when we go on runs it'll be easy to push."

Juice smiled. "Well, we'll get what we picked out today then we can always stop back in. We can do the registry a different day, you look like you're about to fall asleep where you stand baby." He pulled her to him. "We just started our newest adventure together and I cannot wait to see where it takes us." He kissed her cheek and smiled. "I'm thinking we should get the kid's name embroidered on everything when we find out for sure he's a he."

Bri nodded and smiled. "I'm loving that idea… I cannot wait to get the nursery all set up and perfect. I'm excited for the baby." She hugged him and walked hand in hand with him up to the register. Her eyes never leaving him as he smiled, laughed and talked with the cashier about the baby on board. He was excited which made her even more excited herself.

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**Let me know what you thought. (:**


	29. Chapter 29 Enemy

**Let's throw a little drama Bri's way. (: It's my favorite thing to do to her. **

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**October 31, 2008 **

"I've never seen so much blood in my life." Bri shook her head as she walked around the driveway. "It's everywhere, it looks like we've massacred a hundred people and just let their blood run everywhere." She sighed and tried to find a clean spot to step on.

Juice shrugged. "I told you that they went crazy last night babe. You should have been here to see it. I honestly thought it was going to end with the cops being called. I'm happy that it didn't though."

The brunette crossed her arms. "Who's bright idea was it to give a group of children unsupervised access to fake blood?" She looked at him before turning to look at Monica who was cowering behind a very stoic looking Aleksandr. "Huh? Monica Elizaveta? Do you want to tell me what exactly happened at the sleepover last night when I left to go to the movies with Nik?"

Monica shook her head. "We just squirted it everywhere because it was so much fun." She avoided looking at her mom. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I'd be more pissed off if it wasn't Halloween. It fits the whole motif but you will be out here with Frey, hosing this all down tomorrow, you got it?" Bri shook her head and smiled. "I love Halloween, I have the perfect costume to wear tonight."

"You gonna be a Russian gymnast?" Juice eyed his girlfriend carefully.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to be Anne Boleyn… Gonna see if I can make it look like I was beheaded then had my head sewn back on."

"I'm gonna go as a biker." He grabbed Bri and started towards the front door. "I'm trying to go trick or treating too… I wanna tag along when they take Monica out."

Bri smiled. "You brought me all the way into the house to tell me you wanna go trick or treating with Monica and her bodyguards? I think that's something you could have told me when we were still outside."

Juice nodded his eyes on her lips as she talked. "I brought you inside to do this." He kissed her before letting his hands fall to her hips as he backed her against the wall. "I don't think Aleksandr would have appreciated us making out like high school kids in the front yard. He always hated when we did."

"You're so dumb babe." She smiled and kissed him back before trailing kisses along his jawline. "I love you though." She gently bit his neck before hugging him. "You're my favorite geek in the whole wide world."

He laughed. "You're my favorite doctor in the whole wide world… I love you too though. Even when you're mad at me."

"Well if that's not unconditional love then I don't know what is!" Bri laughed and tugged on the front of his shirt as she looked out of the windows. "You and I need to go on a vacation for a weekend. Just you and me, being cutesy and all that shit."

"I think we should go to the beach or something… We seem to do well when we're at the beach. I mean come on, the sex we had on that last trip! You running around topless after dark, even though I did tear your top off." Juice smirked and held her tightly. "I say we go to the beach for a weekend but not until you start showing, something tells me you in a bikini with a cute baby bump will be the most beautiful thing ever!"

"A baby bump and a bikini on the beach in like December? I'm not too sure about it. I know we live in Cali but babe, it's gets cold. We're in the Bay not down in Long Beach." She shook her head and touched her stomach. "I want a bump already though, just a small one."

"Then we'll go find a beach where the weather is still good." He rested his hands on her stomach and smiled. "I wonder who the baby will favor, I'm hoping he doesn't get my nose, he better get your nose."

"If not I can always give him the perfect nose when he's eighteen." Bri laughed before sitting down on her bedroom floor. "I'm thinking about tearing up the carpet in this area and having fur put down instead."

Juice shook his head and laid down on the plush white carpeting. "I think you're absolutely ridiculous with this whole fur thing. It's not something I can support even though the fur does feel really damn good."

"Aww man! You know it would be lovely to make love on fur…" She looked to the bed and smirked before looking back at him. "Not that fur though… I have plans for that fur."

"I have plans for it too…" He grabbed her ankles and tugged her towards him. "How much more time do we have until we head out to trick or treat?"

"Six hours but we're so not about to have sex on the floor or at all… I'm hungry, can we go out and get some In n Out? I need a double double, animal style with fries and a large lemonade. Don't even start your eat healthy lecture! I want it and I want it right now baby." Bri batted her lashes at him and smiled. "Please?"

Juice nodded. "Yeah, let's go feed the kid." He smiled and helped her to her feet. "I think I'll get me a burger too. Live on the wild side."

**SOA**

Bri made faces at Juice as he tried his hardest to keep from laughing as he talked on the phone with Jax. "Baby." She whispered as she moved from her seat across from him to one right next to him. "Babe." She pressed a kiss to his neck before lightly dragging her teeth over his earlobe. "Pay attention to mee… I'm so childish but you love it!"

Juice tried his best to keep from giving into the brunette rubbing herself up against him. "Yeahh." he mumbled into the phone as he felt her kiss his neck over and over, her hand dropping to his lap. He glanced at her before looking around to see they were pretty much all alone in the corner of the ice cream shop. "Yeah, I'll be there in the morning." He ended the call and looked towards his girlfriend. "I'll kill you…"

She laughed and kissed his lips softly. "I thought it was fun to kiss on you while you were on the phone babe."

He shook his head and caught her lips in a kiss. "I don't think it was fun…" He smiled against her lips before pulling away. "I thought it wasn't very nice and I think you need to make it up to me after we finish up trick or treating later tonight. That lasts what? Two hours tops? Eight to like ten?"

Bri shrugged. "I'll make it up to you for sure and I don't think it'll be that long. She's six, her legs are gonna get tired."

"Let's finish this ice cream and we can head home and get you into your costume. Something tells me I'm going to love it so much." Juice fed her a spoonful of his ice cream and smirked. "We're that annoying couple in the restaurants everyone hates! Holy shit!"

She laughed and nodded. "Who cares, it's not like we're going to see any of these people ever again." She started eating her ice cream sundae. "I love this ice cream so damn much, it's so delicious."

"We should get a couple of pints and take it home, knowing you it'll be your newest craving and I'll have to drive at night to get it. We get three of every flavor and all the toppings they have to offer, that way we're set." He looked back towards the menus hanging above the counters. "They hand pack the pints."

Bri rolled her eyes. "That's a brilliant idea but I don't know where you're going to put it all. We came here on your bike after I told you I wanted to take the car."

"Shit." He shook his head. "I know we can fit a few things in the saddle bags. I'm gonna try, if all fails, we'll stick some in your shirt. It's a short ride home."

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say that shit." She finished her ice cream and smiled. "We can leave babe."

"Let's go then." Juice stood up and grabbed her hands. "It'll be a nice slow ride back home." He tugged her towards the door, abandoning his idea of bringing home ice cream, if she craved it, he'd just have to go out and get it.

**SOA**

"Do I look cute?" Monica twirled around in her costume and smiled. "I feel like I'm a Mary Queen of Scots."

Aleksandr nodded. "How do you even know about Queen Mary?"

"Mom talks to me about all the Queens and princess throughout history. Mary is supposed to be the wild one, so I like her because she sounded fun." She shrugged and twirled around again, the skirt of her dress catching the air and fluttering back down the ground when she stopped. "I wish I had an accent."

He laughed. "You do have an accent my love. You have a very gorgeous Russian accent, you can't hear it because you're so used to your own voice but I can hear it. You sound like Bri and Nik."

Monica blinked up at the man in disbelief. "I have an accent? That is Russian? Is that why the girls at school say I sound like I'm supposed to be Dracula?"

Aleksandr frowned. "Yeah you have an accent. It doesn't sound like Dracula's. It's rather cute if I do say so myself."

"I think we're all ready to go!" Bri stomped down the stairs. "Do I look like my head has been sewn back on?"

"Yes! You look pretty though!" The six year old smiled and jumped up and down. "I'm ready to go now! I want to get all the candy from the Bat Cave!"

The brunette nodded. "Well, your highness, I shall follow after you then and the guys will be behind us. They're dressed like assassins, Igor, he's the dude from the transporter and crank."

"Except me." Juice fell in step beside them as they headed down the driveway. "I'm dressed like myself."

Monica giggled and shook her head. "At least you tried."

"Yeah babe, at least you tried." Bri grabbed his hand and smiled. "I wish I could have dressed you up as King Henry."

"Nah, don't want to be any man who beheads his wife in order to get a new one." He smiled at her as Monica rang the doorbell.

"Trick or treat!" Monica yelled as she looked up at Happy who was glaring at the group of people in his yard. "Don't I look so cute?" She struck a pose and giggled with Bri took her picture.

"Here's your candy kid." Happy shook his head and dropped a bag of candy into the little girl's bag. "I bought that for you, don't share it."

Bri shook her head. "Do I look good too?"

He rolled his eyes. "Go away priss. I'll see you later Monica." He swung the door shut without another word.

Juice laughed. "I think that was his way of saying yes to your question." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Where are we off to next? The houses without the massive iron gates?"

"Pretty much." Bri watched as Monica dragged Frey down the sidewalk by his hands. "Poor guy, he doesn't know what's about to hit him. She's not gonna let go." She shook her head and leaned against Juice and smiled.

"She has a thing for white boys, I'm calling it now. She's going to marry one." He laughed and moved behind the brunette as they watched Monica skip up the walkway to the next house and ring the bell. "She's like the only kid out tonight. That's so weird."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "It's not weird, there just aren't that many kids in this part of the neighborhood. If we go towards the smaller houses, there are more kids. The bigger houses are mostly owned by criminals without kids. Hence all the nicknames. The Fortress, Bat Cave, Wayne Manor, it's all about keeping up appearances."

Juice nodded and smirked. "Is the Fortress the biggest house in the neighborhood? If it's not then I'd be pretty fucking surprised."

"It is." Bri tugged on the front of his kutte and smirked. "I would kill to see you all cleaned up and wearing a suit babe… Minus that damn mohawk though."

"I'm gonna grow it out… I decided that I would." He kissed her lips and smiled down at her. "What is Anne Boleyn known for anyway?"

"She is known for being a woman who can get her way. She has a way with words, can sell a fantasy to a man and make him do crazy things in return. This caused controversy, her husband claimed she was some type of heretic, didn't follow his religion and tricked him into divorcing his first wife. To top it all off, she promised him sons but only gave him a daughter, something that displeased the king. All her talking ironically cost her her head." She smirked. "That was the most simple way to explain it, I have books and movies if you want to learn more. The Tudors is pretty good."

"She sounds pretty bad ass." He shrugged and moved slowly in circles around the brunette. "I'm calling dibs on all the skittles she gets."

Bri rolled her eyes. "I don't care what you take as long as I get some sour candy and a kit kat."

"Mommy!" Monica came bounding from around the corner, Frey on her heels. "Frey took the whole candy bowl!"

Frey laughed. "I do not know what she's talking about. I did no such thing." He clutched an orange bowl to his stomach and smirked. "The child is seeing things."

"It's right there!" Monica laughed. "I'm not blind! Mom!"

Bri shook her head. "Calm down, it's okay he that he took it, he'll share the candy with you. Isn't that right Frey?"

He nodded. "I'll share with her."

"Good." The tiny brunette stomped her foot. "We still have so many other houses to hit! We still have to meet back up with my friends."

"No attitude." Bri shook her head. "If you be nice they'll keep walking with you… Juice and I are going home. I feel sick."

Monica nodded and hugged her. "Bye Mommy! I'll bring you candy back!"

"Well excuse me." She laughed as she watched the six year old take off down the street, Aleksandr close behind her. "We just got dissed."

Juice laughed. "It's alright, let's take you home." He turned his back to her. "Hop on."

**SOA**

Juice frowned as he sat on the floor outside of the shower, he had been there for most of the night. Wanting badly to take Bri's place as she continued to get continuous bouts of nausea. "You sure you don't wanna go to the hospital?"

"They won't do anything." She shook her head and slowly sipped tea. "They'll just give me some bullshit anti-nausea medication."

"Can I at least come inside the shower with you?" He smiled at the brunette. "Please?"

She nodded. "The water feels so damn good."

"It's cold." He sat down across from her and rubbed her feet. "I haven't had to take a cold shower in a long ass time."

Bri shrugged. "So much for having a sexy Halloween night. I'm sorry babe."

"It's alright, I'm blaming the kid." He pulled her into his arm and smiled. "You can't help it that you started getting violently ill… We should worry if you start bleeding or whatever but so far so good."

"I think I'm ready to lay back in bed now." She yawned as she allowed him to help her to her feet. "I need something heavier than tea. I want some soup babe."

Juice wrapped a fluffy black towel around her and walked her to the bed. "You relax, I'll go get you some soup. You want anything else? Water? Seltzer? Crackers?"

"Crackers and some pineapples." Bri smiled as she pulled on a large shirt on and climbed into bed. "I want chicken noodle soup but without the noodles and chunky stuff. So, a creamy chicken soup but not straight broth. There are cans in the pantry."

He nodded. "I'll be right back." He tightened his sweatpants and walked out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time as he made his way through the house and towards the kitchen. "You're still up?" He looked at Svetlana who was sitting on the counter, a pint of ice cream in her hand as she hummed to herself.

Svetlana shrugged and looked at Juice. "I couldn't sleep, waiting for Frey to get home but he apparently has other plans. Kitty Kat still all sick?"

"Wasn't Frey out trick or treating? You lost track of him from that point?" Juice grabbed the can of soup from the pantry and eyed the label carefully, trying to figure out if it was even healthy for Bri or the baby she was carrying. "Yeah, she's really nauseous, can barely keep anything down but the doctor isn't too concerned because she doesn't have a fever or isn't bleeding or spotting or whatever."

The brunette frowned. "I was at a party with Nik and I was supposed to meet Frey back here at twelve but he wasn't here and still hasn't shown up. Not a call or a text… That sucks, I feel bad that she's so sick."

"Maybe he's off handling family business… It's a thing." He shrugged as he grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and started making the soup. "He's always doing something or the other for either Aleksandr or Elijah."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe. You excited for the baby? I saw you standing in the soon to be nursery the other morning in deep thought."

"Very excited but just as nervous. It's been awhile since I've actually thought of myself being a dad." He ran a hand over his face and sighed. "It's scary and amazing at the same time. I just can't wait for the kid to get here."

Svetlana chuckled. "When is she due? I'm going to need to prepare myself for it all."

"First week of May." Juice grabbed the bowl from the microwave and crackers from the pantry. "Hopefully he will be on time, maybe late but I don't need him to be early."

"She likes ice cubes on the side." She pointed towards the bowl of soup and smiled. "It's been her quirk since we were seven and she burnt her tongue on hot soup. She likes to have them just in case she can't wait for the soup to cool down."

"Is that why she always had a cup of ice with soup?" He shook his head and grabbed a cup, filling it halfway with ice from the fridge. "I just thought she liked the ice with her water or whatever she was drinking with her soup."

"Nope." She shook her head. "It's because she has this irrational fear of burning her tongue on hot soup again… She cried for like five minutes and couldn't taste anything for a week."

Juice nodded as he grabbed the tray. "Thanks. I'm sure Frey is just caught up with work." He flashed her a smile before leaving the kitchen and heading back to the bedroom. "I have your soup Bri." He set the tray on the nightstand, smiling down at Bri who was curled into a tight ball and asleep. "I guess it'll be here for later." He slid in next to her, pulling her tight against his body as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**November 2, 2008**

"Elijah." Bri walked into the guestroom looking for the man, she needed to talk to someone and with Aleksandr off doing whatever it was he was doing, Elijah was second in command but only he couldn't find him either. "Are you all just gone?" She frowned as she moved to the next guestroom, coming up empty once again. She sighed and conceded. "Frey!" She moved into the garage, finding the man standing at the workbench sharpening his knives. "I need to talk and you're the only guy here."

Frey set his tools down, turning slowly to look at the brunette. "I don't know what you want me to do about that? I can't talk to you about your pregnancy shit, I've never experienced it." He smirked as he wiped his hands on the rag hanging from his front pocket.

"Shut up." She shook her head and moved closer to him. "I'm not here to gripe about pregnancy issues, I'm here to complain about the Russians. The other family is starting to move stateside and I need to know why… No one is telling me shit, I know it has to be some serious shit in the works since Aleksandr's older brother is out here."

He grimaced and shook his head. "I don't think it's anything that _you_ need to worry about. We have it all under control. They're here flexing muscle trying to show us that they can be just as formidable. It's a game of who has the bigger dick. It's nothing serious, you're not in any danger as far as we know."

"Alright." She shook her head and sighed. "I'll trust you on this one but if people start getting snatched, I'll be worried about things. We also have the little problem that is Svetlana, none of the Sons has realized her last name is Putlova…"

Frey smirked. "It's alright, I don't think it's a big deal if they do. Putlova is a common name to have, it's the generic Russian name. Go inside and relax, let me finish getting my torture kit all set up."

"You and Happy would be best friends. He's the Sons' killer, I think he carries around a torture kit and everything." Bri smirked.

"Viking torture kit is better." He tapped on the tool box and smirked back at her. "I'm a little upset that you brought another Viking into the mix. Viking Eric."

"Eric was not originally supposed to stick around, I was sleeping with him when I was off in Sweden and brought him back to see if we could work shit out but he ended up just being head of a new security detail that I didn't need because he doesn't want to go home to Sweden." The brunette tossed her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. "Don't even start on your shit, you know why I don't sleep with _you_."

Frey nodded. "Because you can't handle all of this!" He gestured to his body and laughed. "Just admit it Katarzyna."

Bri shook her head. "Don't call me that. I'm going to go look at baby shit online, I'll be around if you need me. Got it?" She smiled as he nodded. "Do some real work, I don't know why I pay you to just hang out like a damn creeper in my garage." She walked into the kitchen and froze as she looked at Aleksandr's older brother. "Stellan."

Stellan smiled down at the tiny brunette. "All these years and i still scare your ass?" He pulled her into a tight hug and laughed. "I keep telling you that you have nothing to be afraid of girl."

"You say that but yet I'm still afraid of your ass Stellan." She sighed. "There's no fucking explanation as to how a man of your size is so damn quiet. That's what is scary, I at least can hear Aleksandr approach after training my ears to listen for his breathing."

He shrugged. "I'm looking for Frey."

Bri nodded. "He's in the garage, sharpening his knives." She watched him walk through the door before following after him, her curiosity getting the best of her as she opened the door and walked in quietly, only to see Stellan pointing his gun at Frey's head. "You don't kill him!" She yelled, drawing attention from both men. "Jesus fucking Christ! Let him up!"

Stellan looked to Bri. "You realize he's going to have to be killed?" He slipped his gun back into his holster and backed away from Frey. "He's the enemy."

The brunette shook her head. "You don't kill him without my permission and you definitely don't do it in my fucking garage! My kid is in the goddamn house! Have you all lost your minds? If you need to handle shit you take it away from me and my family. Frey, go away. Stellan, go away. You both go find Aleksandr and talk this shit over with him."

Frey looked at the brunette and pressed his hands together. "Thanks boss." He nodded at her as he hit the button to open the garage door.

"You're foolish, you just let the rat go free Brianna!" Stellan growled as he walked out of the garage.

Bri shrugged. "You don't kill my friends, in my house. I don't know who the fuck you think you are but let me be the judge and jury for Frey. You and the guys can come to me with your evidence or whatever but until then, he's staying alive and close to us. Where he should be, you see where I'm getting at?" She cocked a brow at the man. "Good." She crossed her arms and watched Stellan walk further away from the garage. "Men." She huffed as she walked back into the house, feeling the weight of the family lowering itself back on her shoulders.

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**I hope you guys are digging the lengthier chapters. (: **


	30. Chapter 30 Grey vs Gray

**November 9, 2008 **

"So." Bri looked at Frey as she covered her french fries with cheese sauce and bacon bits. "Why is Stellan trying to kill you? What's the deal with the whole rat shit?"

The man shrugged. "I'm not a rat. You have to believe me when I tell you that shit. I know we come from different sides but we're friends and I'd never leak any information I know to your opposition Brianna. I swear."

The brunette nodded. "I believe you when you tell me you aren't the rat but I want to know why they think you're the rat…" She looked at him in his piercing blue eyes. "Tell me Viking, do you know if the other one is a rat?" She asked slowly, her Russian accent growing thicker with each word she spoke. "Is Eric the rat?"

Frey gave a curt nod. "He's the only one who seems to be friendly with the home country. You know I pledged my allegiance to you and the family when you saved me from your husband. I've been on your side ever since that day six years ago. I don't give out my loyalty easily, you've earned it and will always have it. That is my promise to you."

Bri nodded and looked towards the backyard. "I'll handle this shit until then please try to keep your head and your life. Do I need to get you a bodyguard? I don't want you getting killed because of a misunderstanding. Trying to string up the wrong Swede." She pushed her plate towards him. "You seen my sweet Svetlana around?"

He took a bite of the fries and shook his head. "I think she went on a day trip to the beach with your Nikola. I thought these fries were going to be nasty but they're actually pretty damn good." He grabbed her bottle of water and smirked and poked at her stomach and smiled.

"They didn't even invite me!" She frowned and looked down at her stomach. "It swells up when I eat too much salt, this isn't me showing at all." She stood up and tugged her shirt down and shrugged. "Don't mock my pregnancy problems asshole. We tend to swell up and stuff."

Frey laughed. "Don't eat salty food then… When does the actual belly start to show, I feel like you've been pregnant for six months already."

"I've been pregnant since August but found out a little after a month in September now it's November and it's starting to show a bit, the swelling needs to just go down." Bri smiled at the man. "I'm in my second trimester, by next month I'll have a cute ass baby bump to show off everywhere I go!"

He nodded, pretending like he understood what she was going on about. "Ahh, well I cannot wait to meet the baby. I will show her what it's like to be a Viking woman."

"No, no!" The brunette shook her head vigorously. "I'm having a boy! I will know for sure next month but I'm entirely sure the baby is a boy."

"Odin is telling me that the baby is a girl." Frey dropped the empty plate into the sink. "Sorry about it Boss." He flashed her a mischievous grin and strolled out of the kitchen, leaving the brunette all alone.

Bri chewed on her bottom lip and sighed. "Vikings and their Gods." She touched her stomach before shrugging and padding through the house, eager to find something to do to take her mind off the fact she was going into another month of not being a surgeon or having any type of job. She needed to find a hobby, one that didn't have her blowing through her monthly spending limits like a psycho.

"Hey." Juice looked up from his laptop and smiled at Bri as she crawled onto the bed and sat in front of him with her legs crossed. "What's wrong?"

"I am going out of my mind! What do unemployed people do to fill their time? I don't see how stay at home moms do to stay busy. I dropped Moni off at school and now I still have two hours before I pick her up. I don't know what to do babe!" She whined and fell backwards on the bed and kicked her feet. "I'm going fucking insane!"

He laughed and set his laptop off to the side. "You have a lot more of this whole not working thing babe. We'll find you a hobby. Maybe you'll be good a photography like Jacey is, you can take pictures of the kids and weird puddles after it rains. Maybe you can run a blog or you can start drawing again, you loved to draw when we were in high school."

Bri nodded and looked at him, knowing he had a very good point about her love for drawing when she was younger. "I know, I loved to draw but I don't know! I just want to be a damn doctor and do shit! I don't know how I'll live if I never got a job as a working surgeon. All that hard work for nothing! I didn't even double major in anything sensible. I have a stupid bachelor's degree in business. What the actual fuck was I even thinking?"

He grabbed her legs and tugged her so she was sitting in her lap facing him. "You really need to relax and not stress. You remember what the doctor said? Yeah, I thought so. Just relax and we'll figure all of this shit out, you'll be a working surgeon and I won't stop until it happens, no matter how long it takes."

"Babe! I just need to do something, get out of the house and keep busy. I don't want to sit around and devour everything in sight. I don't want to be the woman who gains half her body weight during a pregnancy." The brunette rested her forehead against her boyfriend's and sighed. "I'm just so bored sitting around here babe. I'm not you, I can't sit on my laptop like you can babe."

Juice kissed her lips and smirked. "Get dressed, we're going out. We have two hours to find you a hobby until we have to pick up Monica."

"Fine." Bri kissed him back before she rolled of his lap. "This better be an amazing ass hobby we find for me, you know I grow bored easily."

**SOA**

Juice held Bri's hand proudly as they walked into the craft store, he saw the guys eyeing her and was feeling an ego boost because she was at his side. Her smile directed at him as she talked about trying her hand at jewelry making. "I think that sounds like a good idea, if you get good enough at it you can use more expensive metals and sell it for real."

"Yes! Jewelry designer extraordinaire! I love diamonds, I could be amazing at this hobby and make money." She grabbed a cart and smiled as Juice wrapped an arm around her waist. "Just staking your claim babe? Making sure all those guys know who I'm with?"

He pressed her lips to her head and nodded. "Yeah, something like that. I need to put my name across your ass or somewhere."

Bri nodded. "We can see if we can't get those stupid alphabet beads, I'll make a necklace and bracelet with your name on 'em and wear them proudly."

He laughed as they walked down the aisle. "I like the sound of that. We need to get you some of those iron on transfers and I'll iron my name on all your joggers you wear these days."

She smirked. "Ruin my joggers and you'll be dead… They're the most comfortable pants I have and dresses are not an option yet." She looked at the various chains and tools on the shelves in front of them. "I guess I need to get a little bit of everything and see what I like the most."

He nodded as he watched her start to drop items into the cart. "You think we can have a themed wedding?"

"Let's slow it down, we can talk about themed wedding once you propose to me." She wiggled her hand. "I don't see an engagement ring on my finger, I just see a cool heart shaped ring my dad gave me chilling on it."

Juice rolled his eyes. "I got it, I got it." He smirked and wrapped an arm back around her waist as he looked at the wall of tools. "This is going to be an expensive hobby."

Bri nodded. "I know but good thing I have money to blow… I feel like I would be so good at metal stamping." She turned the kit over in her hands and nodded. "I love to hammer things."

"You think they have model rockets here?" He looked down the aisle.

The brunette shrugged. "Probably, don't leave me though." She grabbed his hand and smiled. "Please?"

"Yeah, I'll stay. What's wrong?" Juice eyed her and frowned. "You afraid to be alone in the store now?"

Bri shook her head. "I love spending time with you, plus you always get random calls to handle club shit so I need to make the most of the time I have you."

He smirked. "I love spending time with you as well." He hugged her and rocked them back and forth. "You're my little tchotchke." He kissed her forehead.

"Damn, haven't heard that nickname in over a decade." She smiled up at him. "Let's finish supplying this hobby and go pick up the little one from school."

**SOA**

Bri leaned against Juice as they waited with all the other parents. It was ten minutes before the kids would be getting out of school and swarming the pick up area. She tried her hardest to ignore the weird looks that the other moms were shooting her way but she wasn't above being a little annoyed. She knew they were judging her and Juice. "I swore I'd never send a kid to private school because the parents are dicks but here we are." She mumbled and tilted her head back to look at him. "That lady in the blue track suit has been staring at us nonstop."

Juice shrugged and looked in the direction the brunette had gestured to. "She's probably trying to figure out what kid belongs to the two tattooed criminals." He smirked and wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her cheek. "Remember, you're a fucking surgeon whether you're working or not, these are all just lowly stay at home moms who will judge you no matter what."

"She has that look like she wants to say some slick shit." The brunette groaned as the bell rang, her eyes wide as she looked for Monica among the swarm of children. "So many damn brunettes… I see her." She moved forward slightly, bringing Juice with her as she smiled, her eyes connecting with Monica's green ones. "She looks sad." She pushed away from him and started towards her daughter, dropping to her level. "What's wrong monkey? Who do I have to beat up?"

Monica wrapped her arms around Bri's neck and started to cry. "At recess the girls wouldn't let me play foursquare with them. I had to hang out with the boys, they let me play kickball with them but I wanted to play foursquare." She sniffled as she tried to catch her breath. "Why are they mean to me?"

Bri shook her head and sighed, not knowing what in the world to say. She wasn't expecting having to address the bullying topic with a six year old, she thought she had a few more years to prepare for that. "Um, they're just jealous baby. You're pretty, smart, and amazing at foursquare. It's nothing to cry over… I'll go talk to the principal tomorrow morning when I drop you off, if she doesn't make it better I'll do it myself. I'll smack each one of those little bitches, I don't care if I get in trouble." She held the girl and stood up.

The tiny brunette laughed and wiped her eyes. "You can't get in trouble, you're having a baby! I don't mind playing with the boys but I want more friends."

"Baby, you have friends. All the girls in your dance classes, those are your friends. Forget about these little stuck up bitches at this school. They're missing out by not letting you play foursquare. Kickball is better anyway." Bri kissed her and smiled. "You're my little monkey and I'm going to make it better for you."

"I'm not a monkey." Monica giggled as she wiggled free and dropped to the ground, her feet making a barely audible thud. "Can we get some ice cream?"

Juice smiled and nodded. "Yeah if it makes you feel better, we can get ice cream." He held both of their hands as they walked back to the car. "You learn anything fun today?"

The six year old nodded as she let Juice secure her in her seat. "I learned that the girls in my class are little bitches."

Bri laughed. "You can't say that at school or to the girls. You'll get in trouble, then I'll be in trouble then Aleksandr will be mad at us both… Got it babe?"

"I got it babe!" Monica laughed and pushed her hair out of her face. "I'm getting mint n chip ice cream with gummy worms!"

"Bri used to eat gummy worms every day with her lunch." Juice looked back at the beautiful little brunette. "I was surprised that she didn't get fat or lose her teeth."

"You bought me every damn pack I had at lunch. You would stop at the bodega on the way to school just to make sure I had my fix." Bri smiled. "Juice was a romantic guy when he wasn't being a butthead."

"I had to make sure the princess satisfied her sweet tooth." He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Let's get that ice cream!"

**SOA**

"It's so small." Juice rested his hand on Bri's stomach and laughed. "I want you to look like you've swallowed a beach ball already." He looked up at the brunette. "I think you need to eat some more."

Bri rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away. "It's cute, stop being mean to the kid. Not his fault he hasn't hit his full potential yet. Give him a month and he'll be making a home in there and expanding like crazy."

He kissed her stomach and laid next to her, grabbing her smaller hands with his larger ones. "I was thinking that we should have a family portrait done before we have the baby then one right afterwards."

"Set it up with Jacey, she already does my monthly belly pictures." The brunette smiled and yawned. "It'll be cute, we can be color coordinated and all of that cheesy shit."

Juice nodded enthusiastically and chuckled. "We are going to be that family who sends out Christmas cards!"

Bri scoffed. "Good lord, you're a bigger geek than I ever imagined. Christmas cards are a no go but we can do weird family photos and hang them everywhere around the house. I think that'll suffice babe."

"I love you babe." He rested his head on her legs and smiled.

"I know, I love you too." She sat up and rubbed his head, feeling the hair growing in. "I cannot wait until your head is covered in all that lush hair like old times."

**November 16, 2008**

Juice yawned as he stood between Aleksandr and Stellan, he had been woken up and dragged out of the house. Aleksandr mumbling something about handling a rat problem. He immediately woke up but quickly relaxed again as they drove out to the middle of nowhere, entering a rundown warehouse finding Eric tied to a chair and Frey circling him. " So Frey isn't the rat? Eric is?"

"Yes." Aleksandr began to slowly roll his sleeves up as his dark eyes were narrowed at the Swede tied to the chair. "We thought it was Frey but he baited Eric and exposed him as the one feeding information to the opposition. Information that could potentially put Bri in danger if we're not proactive."

He nodded and yawned again. "Why am I here then? Isn't this something the two of you could handle?"

Stellan passed Juice a knife and smirked. "You're here to handle this shit. He was feeding information that could harm the woman you love. Isn't this a task you're willing to take on? Defending your lady and her honor?"

Juice looked at the knife in his hand and nodded slowly. "Yes." He swallowed hard, he knew it was an opportunity he had to take and accomplish without any sort of struggle. Brianna was his woman to take care of, no more letting the guys handle what he could do himself. "I'll handle it. What exactly do I do with the knife?"

"You take a gun and a knife, you ask him by knife or by gun? If he says gun he dies a coward's death and if he says by knife he dies a brave death. It is something that Bri's family has been doing since before she was born." Aleksandr passed Juice a gun and smiled. "If he says knife, you need to sort of scalp him. We need the skull to be intact."

He grimaced. "I have to do what now? I've never scalped or skinned anything." He turned the knife over in his hand hoping that Eric would pick the gun. "I just start at the top and go from there? I mean, I've watched Bri skin a rabbit before but that's about it."

Stellan let out a loud bellowing laugh. "It's just like that, you pick a point and you just start to skin it. Just like a rabbit, boy." He clapped a hand on the young man's shoulder and pushed him towards Eric. "Get at it!"

Aleksandr shook his head. "I don't think he's ready for this task yet. I think it'll make things hard for him and Bri." He glanced at his older brother before looking at Juice who has shaky hands as he approached the man. "I'll do it. I can't have things being bad for the kids when they're expecting a baby."

"You've gone soft." Stellan shook his head. "Go, take over for the boy… I will get him home safely for you."

"I'll do it." Aleksandr took the knife and gun from the young man. "I can't let you take this one, it's a personal one for me as well. I will let you get the next one."

Juice nodded, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Thanks man." He offered the man a smile before backing away slightly, his brown eyes flittering from man to man as they looked at him. He only hoped he wouldn't get too much shit for not being able to scalp a man his girlfriend once trusted with herself and her daughter.

**SOA**

Bri walked into the nursery smiling as she watched Juice paint the largest wall. "Are my eyes really that color _grey_? I thought they were more _gray_?" She shook her head and sat down in the middle of the floor.

"They're _grey_. They're closer to white than they are to black but it really depends on your mood and the lighting. Sometimes your eyes look so bright that they are sort of colorless." He looked at the grey on the walls and smiled. "This is your eye color babe."

"I don't get the whole difference between grey and gray. I know people say the spelling is different but I'm pretty sure they're two different shades, one is closer to black and the other isn't." She shrugged and sighed. "I think I'm over this whole color situation."

He laughed and sat down next to her, pulling her into his lap. "Still a dope color for a nursery though. I don't think anyone else is painting their kid's room this color with a dope color pop of purple."

Bri nodded. "How was your early morning wake up call? I know I would have killed the man if he would have pulled me out of bed that damn early."

"It was something… I was tasked with scalping the rat but I really couldn't stomach it so luckily Aleksandr stepped up and took over." Juice shook his head. "I'm sorry if I let you down for not stepping up and getting rid of Eric."

The brunette shrugged. "I really don't care that you didn't get it done babe. You're not a killer babe. I don't expect you to become one overnight either. That type of shit takes a certain mental breakthrough."

He nodded. "I think if you were directly in harm's way, I'd be able to do it though." He kissed her cheek and smirked. "Yeah, I'd do it but maybe I can get some lessons from Happy or something."

"Become the little killer?" Bri smiled. "I'd love to see that shit. You becoming a mini Happy clone! Just don't shave your head and we'll be good my love." She kissed and nipped at his neck and laughed. "Finish painting this room then come find me when you're done babe. I need some sexy time with my baby daddy!"

Juice chuckled and stood up. "I'll tend to your needs soon, I only have one wall left." He watched her leave the room before turning back to the task at hand, finishing up the nursery for the baby's arrival. "So glad she wasn't disappointed." He mumbled to himself, feeling a wave of relief rush over him.

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**Just gonna let you guys know that next chapter will be a time jump, of about a month. (: **


	31. Chapter 31 Christmas

**December 9, 2008 **

Bri knocked Frey's hand away from her stomach as they walked into the mall. He had been touching it all day, making Nolan move around more than she wanted him to. "Stop, he's flipping around, it's making me feel nauseous." She looked at him as he tried to touch her belly again. "Stop it!"

Frey laughed, looking at the brunette who was turning red with frustration. "I'm sorry, it's just so weird to see you with a belly again." He shrugged and steered them towards the jewelry store. "What are you doing here though?"

"I want to get Monica her own nameplate necklaces. One that says Monica, one that says Monkey and the third will say Hohrykova." The brunette walked into the jewelry store and smiled. "This is the place I got my bracelets done at." She lifted up her hand and pointed at the delicate gold bracelets.

He nodded. "I want to get me one that says Viking." He smirked and took a spot next to Bri at the counter. "Are you excited for the baby?"

"Very much so." Bri rubbed her belly and smiled. "I want to make three bracelets, well make it five actually." She scribbled down the list and passed it to the blonde behind the counter. "I need them by Christmas."

"I can do that for you Miss Hohrykova." The blonde smiled and looked down at the piece of paper. "We can deliver them to you if you'd like that."

"Of course." The brunette smiled as she set the cash on the counter. "I also want to look at a watch that you guys had gotten in. It was black with the red free floating diamonds."

Frey smirked at the blonde before checking her out as she walked away. "She was cute… I need to get her number, give her some Viking loving…"

Bri scoffed. "Viking loving? Is that different from skinny Viking loving?"

He nodded. "Eric was a twig…"

She laughed as the blonde came back, setting a box with several watches in it in front of them. "I'll take them all."

Frey gawked at her. "At least look at them first… They sort of look all the same."

"I know." Bri looked into the box. "One for me, Svet, Nik and you. I want one of the men's watches, you can have the other and they can have the women's watches."

"For what?" He looked between her and the watches.

"Christmas." She grabbed his hands. "You've never celebrated Christmas before? How is that possible?"

"With the trees and expensive gifts?" Frey shrugged. "We don't believe in your God… So we wouldn't be celebrating his death."

"Christmas is his birth…" Bri rolled her eyes, setting her car on the counter. "I'm still taking them all. You can size his and mine since we're here but keep my card on file because the other two might come in for sizing."

"I can't take a gift like that." He waved his hand.

"Yeah, you really can." She smacked his hand out of the air. "Let her size you and then we can grab some food, or better yet, you can remember that you wanted to get a nameplate that says Viking."

Frey nodded and scrawled out Viking on a piece of paper. "I am craving burgers…"

**SOA**

Bri walked into the house, her head hurting as she kicked off her shoes and dragged her feet as she made her way to the family room, dropping onto the sofa as she closed her eyes and tried to soothe the headache that was steadily racking against her skull. "Fuck! Ingrid!" She yelled, her eyes closing tighter as the pain started to become unbearable. "Ingrid!"

"Yes." Ingrid came into the room, worry etched on her face as she watched the tears roll down the brunette's cheeks. "What is it? Is it the baby?"

"I have a fucking migraine, I think. I'm not sure I've never had more than a headache." She shook her head. "It hurts so bad, I can't even open my eyes!"

Ingrid shook her head. "We need to get you into your room, make it dark and cool. I have something that should help you with your migraine." She moved to Bri's side, helping her to her feet. "Just keep your eyes closed."

Bri nodded allowing the older woman to lead her to her room and help her undress and crawl into bed. "Thanks Ingrid... At least I'm not drunk this time."

The older woman laughed. "Thank God." She pressed a kid to the young woman's head. "It's dark, you can open your eyes if needed… I'll be back with some things to get you through this Bri."

Bri sighed, opening her eyes only to have a shooting pain rip through her eye sockets. "I'm never going through this shit again… Migraine go away now." She rubbed her temples and kicked her feet, trying to find some type of relief from the steadily increasing pain that was starting to take her breath away. "I can't fucking breathe." She sat up, gasping for air as Ingrid came back in holding a tray. "I can't breathe…"

Ingrid rushed to the woman's side, rubbing her back slowly. "You can breathe, that's all psychological my darling… Deep breath in, then exhale." She smiled as the brunette started to become less anxious. "You can't work yourself up over this, it's not good…"

"I know but I can't help it!" The brunette buried her face in her hands and started to cry before inhaling a sharp breath. "It hurts and I keep thinking every little pain is going to hurt the baby or something. It's terrible."

Ingrid shook her head. "You've done this before… What is different this time around?"

Bri shrugged and groaned as she dropped her hands. "I don't know, everything just feels weird and when I tell the doctor, she tells me it's all in my mind and that I need to actually just relax and enjoy the experience. I can't enjoy it, am I being paranoid or do I need a second opinion?"

"I think to ease your mind you can ask for a second opinion, sometimes doctors can miss things." She hugged the young woman tightly. "I don't think there is a thing wrong with the child though."

She nodded slowly. "I just want everything to work out fine…"

Ingrid laid them both down and smiled. "Everything will be fine, now let's get this migraine of yours under control then I'll make you something light to eat and you can sleep until Juice comes home."

**December 17, 2008 **

Bri stared at herself in the mirror, tugging her shirt over her stomach and smiling proudly, the baby bump was getting bigger. Leaving no doubt that she was pregnant and not just getting chunky as so many assumed. "Babe…" She looked back to the bed, smiling at Juice who was once again on his laptop typing away. "What's so important that you're _always_ on that damn thing? Do you have an internet girlfriend? Are you trying to order a Russian Mail order bride?"

Juice laughed and shook his head. "I'm working on a better security system for the club's computers and trying to hack into a database."

"Oh, you're multitasking." The brunette smirked. "That's impressive but I think you should put that away and take me somewhere. I'm so bored babe."

He looked at her and smirked. "I thought that was what your jewelry making stuff was for? To keep you from becoming bored? Go see Jacey, play with Monica. Do something…"

Bri rolled her eyes. "Fine." She grabbed her keys and purse from the desk and glared over at him. "I'll go hang out with someone else." She moved out of the room, ignoring him calling her name behind her. "I'm going out." She looked at Aleksandr as she moved through the kitchen to the garage. "I am going to find something to entertain myself with until Monica is home from her sleepover."

Aleksandr followed behind her, closing the door in Juice's face as he eyed the brunette carefully before crossing his arms. "Baby girl." He moved closer to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "What's wrong beside you being bored?"

"I'm nervous about this pregnancy and I need to stay busy constantly to keep my mind from working over time about all the things that could possibly go wrong. It's like the first pregnancy but multiplied." She buried her face into his chest and started to cry. "I just need something to keep my mind occupied and nothing did that besides working."

He nodded, remembering how neurotic she was the first time around. "It's normal to think of all the bad shit… Just remember the good things as well." He rubbed her back and smiled. "We can fix this work thing, get in the car."

Bri pulled out of the embrace and nodded as she wiped her eyes and got into the car. "Where are we going?"

"To get you a job." Aleksandr started the car, pulling out of the garage and down the circular driveway. "You wanna work? Then I'll get you a job my dear."

**SOA**

"We're at my old job." Bri undid her seatbelt and looked over at the man. "What're we doing here?"

Aleksandr shrugged and got out of the car. "We're getting your job back…" He moved to her side of the car and pulled her out of the seat. "Buck up chump."

"Fine." She nodded and followed after him, entering the all too familiar office space. "I don't see what you're gonna be able to do, you're not going to threaten his life right?" She pushed the button on the elevator and sighed. "That's what you're gonna do."

He shrugged again, walking with her towards Dr. Banks' office, ignoring the look of confusion on the man's face as he closed and locked the door behind him, keeping Bri on the outside while he rolled up his sleeves to handle what he needed to. "Lucius."

"Aleksandr." Lucius stood up from his desk and eyed the man carefully. "I haven't tried anything with her again…"

"I know." Aleksandr nodded. "Not here to hand you your ass again, I'm here to tell you to give her what she's owed and that is a job. She's finished school, her residency, she deserves her internship. You can't just cast her off like she hasn't fulfilled any and all obligations she needed to. She's an amazing surgeon, I think you even talked to her about opening a practice together, so what changed?"

He shook his head. "It wasn't the fact that she isn't a good surgeon… She's amazing, I praised her over and over again. It's the last name, everyone is becoming uncomfortable as time stretches on. It wasn't under my control to let her go, they just had me deliver the bad news. It was the board as a whole, they looked into her background, her family's connections and decided that someone with supposed connections to the Russian Mafia wasn't someone they wanted working at the firm."

"Understandable. Write down every name." Aleksandr passed him a piece of paper and pen. "Going to pay them each a visit because I don't care who she's supposedly tied to, that's no reason not to have an amazing doctor on the staff."

Lucius passed him the paper. "Here. I don't think threatening them will work in your favor… It'll further prove to them that she runs with a rowdy bunch, especially the guys she's dated and brought around here."

He grunted and shrugged. "Has any of the men she dated affected her ability to get her job done?"

"No." Lucius shook his head and looked at the man. "I want you to know that I only hit on Bri because I felt a connection to her and didn't realize it was solely one sided. It wasn't me trying to start something sexual or romantic to give her a job or anything."

Aleksandr smirked. "I know you weren't being a pervert just for the sake of being one. I know how her personality is flirtatious… Doesn't mean you shouldn't ask before you touch her or try to kiss her. I myself was hoping she'd end up with a doctor. So, does she have her job back or do I need to drop off a few body bags on your front porch?"

The man chuckled before realizing Aleksandr was being serious. "As far as I'm concerned, she has her job back."

"Bri." Aleksandr opened the door and pulled the brunette inside of the office. "Oh yeah, she's pregnant… I think there's some type of law against discriminating against pregnant women as well."

"I have my job back?" Bri smiled. "Yes! Oh my God!" She hugged Aleksandr before hugging Lucius. "Thank you!" She turned and wrapped her arms back around Aleksandr. "I won't let you down again Aleksandr! I promise!"

**December 25, 2008**

"It's Christmas!" Monica jumped on the bed, shaking Bri and Juice both awake. "Santa came and left us presents under the tree!"

"Oh yeah?" Bri looked at the brunette and rubbed her eyes as she sat up slowly. "What time is it? Is the sun out yet Monkey?"

"Yes!" She tugged her mom's hands. "I saw presents with your name on 'em! Can we go open 'em up now? Come on Juice! I bet we got video games 'n everythin' to play!" She grabbed one of his hands and tugged on it as hard as she could. "Come on!"

Bri rolled off the bed, pulling on Juice's discarded sweats. "Alright, alright, let's go open the presents. I know your boyfriend Jax sent something over for you."

Monica paused. "Jax is not my boyfriend! He's my best friend!" She started jumping around again as they made their way down the stairs and into the family room. "See! look at all the presents mommy! I want to open them all at once!"

"Oh wow." Juice looked at all the presents and smiled. "I didn't notice those here last night, I guess Santa really did come by."

"All the presents." The six year old sat in front of the tree and clapped. "I'm opening them all, I love them all. I hope I got a new tea set and dolls."

Bri followed suit. "Yes, I'm opening all of mine." She picked out the smallest present with her name on it and tore it open. "Oh, I got a necklace! It says 'Doctor'." She smiled down at it as she looked for a name on it. "It's probably from Aleksandr." She moved back onto the sofa and cuddled with Juice. "I'm tired already!"

Juice shook his head and held her tightly. "You can go back to sleep, I'll watch Moni and help her open presents and install batteries in toys that need them babe." He kissed her head and smiled as he ran a hand over her belly. "I can't wait until his first Christmas."

She nodded. "I feel weird…" She at up and touched her lower back. "I made another appointment with a different doctor."

"Babe you just need to relax, nothing is wrong with you or the kid. How many times do you need the doctor to tell you that?" He held her hand and pulled her back to him. "Now, watch Monica open her presents." He kissed her cheek. "I got her a pink controller so when we play games together she won't complain about the black controllers being stupid."

"I got necklaces!" Monica held up the three boxes and ran over to the couple. "Put them on me! Look it says Monica!"

Bri smiled and fastened each necklace on Monica. "You're fancy like me now. I've got all these types of necklaces and bracelets." She held up her wrist pointing at the newest bracelet on her slender wrist. "These new ones say, Juice and Juan Carlos."

"What?" Juice paused and grabbed her wrist, smiling at the delicate gold cursive. "I didn't even notice these…"

"They are new." She smirked. "I got them done when I bought her necklaces… It seemed right to have your name on me somewhere."

He kissed her and smiled. "What was wrong with the plastic bead necklace that I made you?" He tugged on the necklace around her neck. "It was made with love!"

"Nothing! I just wanted to add these to my collection." Bri kissed him softly. "I love you babe."

"I love you too." Juice smiled and nodded.

**SOA **

"I can't believe you put a new sound system in my car." Bri slammed the door shut and looked at Juice. "It's fucking perfect, the perfect Christmas gift ever."

Juice nodded and grabbed her hand tightly. "I knew you'd love it because it's practical… Let's go for a walk." He led her down the driveway and off the property. "It's Christmas but it's still warm outside."

The brunette nodded. "Next year, we're spending Christmas somewhere where it actually looks like it's Christmas, I need a reason to wear my furs." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and sighed loudly. "I'm sorry for always seeming to be so panicked about the pregnancy, I was just in my head but I think I'm getting out of it now. I just need to stay away from the internet and all that bullshit. It makes things worse for me."

He laughed as they entered the park. "It's alright, everyone has some type of nervous energy during pregnancy… It's normal, or so I read on the internet." He watched as she sat on the swing and started to move back and forth. "I always hated going to the park with you, you'd always make me see-saw with you."

"Lucky for you, there's not a swingset around here." She laughed and stopped moving the swing. "There's those bouncy back and forth animals over there and a merry-go'round thing." She pointed at each of the items before shrugging. "I remember the first time we had sex in the park, during the independence day fireworks."

Juice nodded. "I remember that night… It led to a whole bunch of mess for us for a few months. The whole missed period thing was scary."

She sighed. "It was scary and then you cheated on me the following week…" She kicked at the dirt, hating herself momentarily for bringing their past up. "Forget I even said shit." She rolled her eyes and began to swing again. "We're focused on now and the baby." She held her hand. "Now swing with me babe!"

Juice smiled and started to swing. "Let's swing right into the future" He laughed at how corny his statement sounded before looking at Bri, her hair fluttering up and down with each movement they made. It was a simple Christmas day but it was one that he would cherish forever.

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**I kept this chapter light and fluffy because the next couple of chapters are really gonna drop the characters into some turmoil.**


	32. Chapter 32 Week

**Hey, hey, hey! Thank you so much for the constant reviews and supports of this story. I appreciate each and everyone of you that take the time out to leave a review after you've read a chapter. **

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**January 12, 2009**

Bri pulled off her scrubs, she had just finished her full day back at work and couldn't keep the smile off of her face. She wasn't thinking about anything negative, her thoughts were full of positive energy as she thought of Nolan and being able to work when she wanted to. The perk of having Aleksandr work out a contract had meant she had flexible hours, she only had to show up when she wanted to and she was thankful for that. "This was fun." She smiled at her nurse before starting to wash her hands. "I missed doing nose jobs…"

The nurse smiled weakly at her before shrugging. "I'm Natalie."

"Natalie? I'm Bri." The brunette smiled at the blonde. "We should hang out sometime, do lunch or something."

"I'd like that… Is this your first day at this office?" The blonde stripped down to her bra and panties, not even batting an eyelash before pulling on her street clothes. "I've only been here for two weeks."

Bri shook her head. "I was here awhile ago, then some things came up." She rubbed her stomach and shrugged. "It's my first official day as intern though… How long have you been a nurse?"

"A few months now, this is my first paying job, the last position was for my externship." Natalie pulled her hair up into a ponytail and smiled. "How far along are you?"

"Five months, I'm having a boy. I'm pretty excited for him." The brunette pulled her shirt on and rolled the waistband of her joggers over before sticking her feet into her black sneakers. "I'll see you around Natalie."

"Yeah, see you around Bri." The blonde smiled.

Bri flashed her a smile before walking out of the room and down the hallway, she passed her office, knowing everything she needed was tucked in the backpack she was wearing. The backpack that Juice had presented her with that morning "Bye." She waved to the receptionists as she started towards the exit.

"Wait!" Lucius jogged over to her. "I wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job in surgery today. I was very impressed, so were the other doctors… Not often does a new doctor on the block do that well with surgery, they usually need assistance."

She shrugged and smiled. "Thank you."

"It's good to have you back on the team." He smiled at her.

Bri rolled her eyes, pulling Lucius out of the building with her before backing him up against the wall. "I'm here and I'm happy because being a surgeon is my passion. I, however am far from stupid. You don't think I know they didn't want me back, as soon as I establish myself, I will open my own practice and I will take this poor excuse for a practice down."

Lucius nodded his head slowly. "If it counts, I wanted you to stay to begin with. I just had my job threatened so I did what they wanted me to do."

She smirked. "Just be on the right side of things…"

**SOA**

"Hey Monkey!" Bri smiled as she saw Monica walking towards her, the six year old was once again misty eyed. "What's wrong my dear?" She instantly picked up the girl and examined her carefully. "Are you hurt?"

Monica rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't wanna go to school anymore! I wanna stay home or go to a new one. Everyone here is stupid!"

She nodded. "I believe it… You don't have to go back to school, I'll find you a new school to go with." She kissed her nose and smiled. "I'll take you out right now." Bri moved towards the principal's office, her anger rising at the realization that this school didn't have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and they definitely didn't take her complaint to heart the last time she visited the principal. "Yeah, excuse you I need to speak with Principal Miller right now. It's an emergency, I am not leaving either, so don't try with the schedule an appointment bullshit. I'm here to pull Monica out of school. I think she'll be better over at Excelsior."

The receptionist frowned. "I'll get her."

Bri set Monica down. "I'm about to do something bad, so let's keep this between you and me. Don't tell Aleksandr…"

Monica nodded. "I won't tattle."

The brunette smiled, standing back up as the principal walked into the office. "Mrs. Miller…"

"Miss Hohrykova, what brings you back to me today?" The redhead eyed the brunette before rolling her eyes.

"I'm here to make a complaint and check Monica out of school. I'm tired the bullshit that you're allowing to happen. How many times does my daughter have to come home crying for you to actually put a stop to those little cunts terrorizing her?" Bri crossed her arms and moved towards the woman. "You think you'd like it if someone was constantly picking on you? Hmm?" She pushed the woman and smirked. "Who you gonna tell now? Huh? You gonna call the police and see how they let me go without a warning because I'm rich, pretty, and have a last name that entitles me to special treatment. I can stand here and fuck with you all damn evening if I need to." She shoved the woman with more force. "You wanna cry? Go ahead, cry… Doesn't feel good to be bullied does it? You had less than a minute of that shit and you're already in tears, try being six and having your classmates tease you for some shit or the other. I want my kid disenrolled right now and I will be pulling the funding that I contributed to this school. No, no, I expect to be refunded the funding AND the tuition… You should see how I am when I don't get my money back… This was me being nice."

Mrs. Miller blinked up at the brunette and nodded. "We'll get you the money back… I'll start her disenrollment right now."

"Good." Bri crossed her arms and stepped back. "I expect the money to be refunded in full by the end of the week, if not… Well, just make sure it's refunded by then. Come on Monica, let's get out of this crappy ass excuse for a private school."

**SOA**

"I still can't believe that you let yourself get knocked up by Juice." Svetlana rubbed coconut oil over Bri's belly and smirked. "It's so weird, like how do you know he's actually changed and not just telling you what you wanna hear, just like he had before."

Bri shrugged. "I trust him this time. I have faith that he's being a good man and behaving. I don't really see him doing anything to jeopardize us, especially with Nolan on board." She smiled down at her friend. "Thanks for oiling me up boo."

The brunette nodded and smirked. "I'm happy to see you happy." She wiped her hands on the towel and tossed it towards the hamper. "I do wanna know how you're not the size of a damn house right now! You're like what? Five months?"

"I've been eating what I should be, when I have a craving, I satisfy it." She shrugged her shoulders. "Almost six… I have like four months left." She tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder and smiled. "So, are you ever going to tell me why you ended shit with Frey? I thought you were happy with him."

Svetlana frowned. "I broke up with him because it was moving a little too fast and I wasn't exactly ready to settle down."

Bri smiled. "I totally understand that."

"He bitch to you about it or something?" The young woman found herself caring more than she should've.

"No… He told me you guys broke up, so I offered to hook him up with someone else but he turned my offer down." Bri placed a kiss to her best friend's forehead. "I can tell that you care more than you actually wanna care."

"Shut up." Lana tossed her pillow at Bri. "I'm going to shower, you should get some sleep, it's almost two in the morning… Love you slut."

"Love you too." Bri shook her head and settled into bed, her mind wandering back to Juice and where exactly he was at right now and what he was doing. It was an occurrence that was starting to annoy her, him being gone more often than he was home.

**January 19, 2009 **

Juice ducked as he saw the vase come careening towards his head. "Bri, calm the fuck down. It's not good for the baby!"

"You're not good for the baby." Bri tossed another vase at him. "You said you'd be gone for the night and that turned into a goddamn week and you couldn't even call and check in? At least send a fucking text? What was so fucking important that you just stopped all communication with your pregnant girlfriend? I swear to God that if you say club shit, I will be tossing something at you that you won't be able to dodge."

He frowned. "I told you when I got in that I lost my phone." He moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her the best he could. "I'm sorry babe but can you please calm the fuck down… That anger can't be good for the baby."

She pushed away from him. "What would you know about what's good for the baby? You've missed the last two appointments… I don't even wanna look at you right now Juice." She turned her back to him, only to feel his arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Don't look at me then but I'm not going anywhere… I know that you being angry and tossing shit could hurt you and the kid… I'll sleep on the sofa tonight or in the backyard, just calm down and think of Nolan." He pressed a kiss to her neck before being pushed away once again.

"Think of Nolan?" Bri looked at him. "I can't believe you said that shit to me."

"I'm thinking of Nolan… He's my son too!" Juice clenched his fists and glared at the brunette. "I'm putting in time now so I won't have to do so much when he gets here. Why don't you understand that shit? This is my job and I have to do it… It pays pretty well too."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Pays well? Juice, I don't know if you've notice but you don't have to put in work and bust your ass to bring in a paycheck! You're going to be handed a franchise that is worth nearly a billion dollars! You don't need the club and you don't need to fucking leave me and our unborn child alone for a week!"

He shook his head. "I made a promise to the club and I plan on keeping it. So, just get over it, alright?"

Bri shook her head, moving to her closet and pulling on a pair of sneakers. "You also made a promise to me but I guess Kozik was right when he said you'd put the club above me each and every fucking time. I'm pregnant, I'm hormonal and all I want is to cuddle with my goddamn boyfriend but I guess that's too much to ask for." She pulled a hoody from the hanger and pulled it on. "I'm going for a walk!"

Juice grabbed her, instantly wiping the tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's not like that…"

"Seems like it is." She slapped his hands away from her face. "I'm going for a walk, I'll take Aleksandr with me or Elijah." She moved around him, doing her best to put space between them quickly and safely. "Dad!"

"He's not here." Frey smirked at her as he started up the stairs. "What's wrong?"

Bri shook her head. "Had an argument with Juice." She continued down the stairs and stopped as she hit the bottom. "Is Elijah around at least?"

"He's out front." He shrugged. "He's not worth the waterworks…"

She nodded before moving towards the front door. "Elijah!" She stepped outside, seeing the man standing against his car. "Elijah!"

"What is it my dear?" Elijah was at the brunette's side quickly. "Is it the baby?"

"No." Bri rested her face against his chest. "Juice is stupid and he keeps doing all the club shit and he's never around anymore and I really need him to be…"

He shook his head and rubbed her back. "He's fulfilling his prior obligations, you can't keep getting mad at him for it."

"I just want to cuddle! It's all I want." The brunette sighed. "It's not my fault I'm all emotional and needy as fuck…"

Elijah chuckled. "It's alright, you have every right to be a nutcase but please don't start burning bridges because your hormones are going haywire… I don't need to be picking up and moving you to some new city. _Again_."

Bri smiled. "I won't move again, I promise! I can't live that shit down can I?" She stomped her feet and whined.

"Nope… You're always so eager to run away and hope it deals with your problems but it doesn't." He walked her to the house. "Now go inside and see if you can't make things right with Juice, he's doing the best he can with all the responsibilities he has."

"Nope, fuck that." The brunette shook her head, firmly planting her feet. "I'm not talking to him because he had me stressed the fuck out for a whole goddamn week when he went off on a run without even telling me. I'm not talking to him and I'm not about to make shit right, when none of this is my fault… Yeah I threw shit at him but none of it hit him."

Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Then go inside and take a bath or something… I don't want to be dragged into this shit because if I am, it'll only end with Juice getting a bullet in his skull."

Bri smirked. "You wouldn't dare kill him…" She turned around and looked at him. "I'll take a bubble bath but I'm not talking to him until he apologizes with a big ass plate of carne asada fries or super nachos…"

**SOA**

"I'm tired of arguing." Juice dropped down on the sofa next to Bri and laced his fingers through her slender ones and turned his head to look at her. "I'm sorry, I should have told you I would be gone for a week."

Bri looked at him and shrugged her shoulders before turning her attention back to the TV. "It's whatever… I mean I guess I understand the whole loyalty to the club." She sighed. "You've been missing his kicking and all that cute shit." She pulled his hand towards her stomach and positioned it. "He's the most active this time of night."

He smiled and looked at Bri with wide eyes. "That's crazy… No wonder why you never get any sleep baby." He pressed on her stomach, earning him a few kicks. "He's a soccer player for sure."

The brunette shook her head. "He's a lacrosse player." She looked at him and smirked. "Or maybe even rugby. I like weird sports for him."

Juice shrugged. "I don't care what he plays, as long as he's having fun with it."

"Yeah." She smiled. "Sorry for always being a little aggressive with you, I just don't know how to get through to you that I just want you around."

He nodded. "It's alright." He pulled her over into his lap and kissed her lips softly. "I'll start doing better and try to get out of some of the runs."

Bri smiled and kissed him back. "You know how you love me?"

Juice raised a brow at his girlfriend. "Yes, I'm aware of how I love you…"

"Do you love me enough to go get me some asada fries from that cute Mexican restaurant I love so much?" She kissed his nose and flashed him a small smile. "I am craving them badly right now, I'd go myself but it's late."

He slid her off his lap and stood up. "Yeah, I'll go grab you an order of fries." He kissed her lips again and smiled. "I'll be back, I hope you're not gonna be asleep when I get back."

Bri smiled and looked at him. "If I'm asleep just stick them under my nose and I'll wake up instantly." She watched him a few more moments, trying to figure out why he was so willing to get her what she wanted when usually he fought her tooth and nail about eating junk food this late at night. She shook her head, willing the negative thoughts to leave her mind. "Be safe."

* * *

**Uh Oh, I think there's trouble on the horizon. (; **


	33. Chapter 33 It's Cute

**January 25, 2009 **

For Juice to say things were going well at home with Bri, would be a plain lie. He hadn't been able to keep his promise about lowering his activity with the club. Instead of it slowing down, it had picked up substantially. Taking him away from home more and more. "Fuck." He mumbled as he backed his Dyna into his usual spot, taking his helmet off and resting it on the handlebars before letting out a hefty sigh and climbing off the bike. He walked into the house, instantly kicking off his boots before starting towards the bedroom he shared with his girlfriend. He opened the door, surprised to see Bri in bed, her eyes focused on the TV. "Hey." He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it into the hamper before doing the same with his pants.

"Hi." Bri mumbled her eyes not moving from the horror film she was watching. A movie that had kept her occupied the whole day trying to find. It wasn't easy coming into contact with Russian movies, let alone Russian horror films. "Wasn't expecting you back."

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his head and looked at her carefully, his brown eyes twinkling as he looked at the baby bump she was sporting. It was bigger than it had been before he left and he could only imagine that it was making her more and more uncomfortable. "You need anything while I'm still standing?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm fine. Ingrid brought me what I needed earlier."

"You just gonna pretend I don't exist when I come home babe?" Juice moved towards her, wrapping her in his arms as soon as he landed in the bed. "I have no control, I'm the grunt, I'm not much higher up than the prospects so I have to do shit whenever I'm called on. I asked Jax for a few weeks off, he said when it's closer to the baby being born I can take them."

Bri sighed, relaxing into his arms, her previous icy exterior thawing instantly in his presence. "I'm not pretending you don't exist… I'm trying to get accustomed to you being gone so I won't freak out and throw shit at you all the time."

He nodded, his large hands rubbing her belly, smiling with each flutter their son made. "He seemed to have gotten stronger in four days." He shook his head and moved his hands up to her breasts and started to palm them gently.

"Stronger each and every day, likes to play hacky sack with my bladder." The brunette shrugged her shoulders and continued to watch the movie. "I'm not having sex with you right now Juan, you smell like dirt, weed, and cigarettes." She wrinkled her nose. "Maybe after you shower."

Juice smirked, grabbing the brunette and pulling her off the bed and to her feet. His eyes growing dark as he scanned her body from head to toe. "You're coming with me." He pushed the flimsy shorts she was wearing down her legs and pulled the tank top over her head before smiling even bigger. "You look beautiful babe." His mouth quickly find her neck, nipping and biting on it as he heard a quiet moan escape the brunette's lips.

"Juice." She ran her fingers lightly through his short hair. "We're never gonna make it to the shower if you keep that up."

He shrugged as he continued to kiss and nip at her neck, his hands finding her ass and giving it a rough squeeze. "No sense in showering now…" He smirked at her before capturing her lips in a kiss, his tongue slipping through her lips as he rolled his tongue against hers. His hands moving to her lower back, then to her hips as he tried to be as close to her as her body would allow. "Your stomach is in the way." He chuckled against her mouth before slowly sucking on her bottom lip.

Bri shrugged. "Not my fault, your kid keeps expanding." She laced her fingers through his and smirked as she felt him suck one of her nipples into his mouth, sending a brief wave of shivers through her spine. "Fuck."

Juice pulled away from her, smiling as he heard her groan in protest. "Gotta lay down baby." He backed her up to the bed and watched her sit down. "Gotta let me know if I'm hurting you or it feels uncomfortable, got it?" He helped her scoot back on the bed, taking a place between her legs before moving a finger up and down her slit, feeling her wetness as he closed his eyes and groaned. "You don't know how bad I've missed this Bri."

She nodded, letting out a loud moan as she felt him push inside of her. Her face twisted up in pleasure as her hands fisted the sheets above her head. "Fuck babe…" She grumbled as he pulled out and thrusted back in quickly, his fingers digging into her thighs as he continued to pick up his pace. "Baby…"

He paused looking down at her. "Am I hurting you babe?" He watched as she shook her head 'no' and started his pace back up. Losing himself in the feeling of being inside of his true love again, his troubles leaving his mind as he continued to stare down at the brunette writhing underneath him. "You feel so damn good Brianna."

"God, I missed fucking you." Bri bit her lip, her hands moving to her breasts as she began to squeeze them before tugging on her nipples, letting out a hiss at the soreness of her nipples. "Shit." She pulled and twisted them more, wishing she could do more than lay on her back and get slammed into repeatedly.

Juice smirked, pressing his hand against her clit as he started a more aggressive pace. "I missed fucking you too…" He pulled out and slammed into her, feeling her instantly beginning to tighten around his cock, making his movements slow. "That's it babe, come for me." He ran his thumb over her clit, shuddering right along with her.

"Fuck." She moaned as her orgasm began to let up, her breathing ragged as she continued to play with her breasts and smile up at her boyfriend as he continued to work himself to a climax of his own. "I wasn't even aware that I needed to get off that fucking badly."

He smiled and slammed into her a few more times before stilling, gripping her thighs even harder as he emptied his seed into her. The warmth of her center spreading over him before he disconnected their bodies and laid face down next to her. "I love you babe."

"I love you too." Bri looked at him and smiled. "Now you really need a shower… You're all sweaty baby." She rubbed his back before sitting up and stretching. "I need to get something to eat, the kid is starving."

Juice sighed and sat up next to her, pressing a kiss to her lips before pulling away with a smile. "I was thinking of the kid… I'm not too sure if Nolan is the right name for him. I think he needs something unique and different."

"Like what? I thought you loved the name Nolan as much as I do." The brunette rummaged through her nightstand and found a hair elastic and piled her hair on top of her head in a sloppy bun. "It's a cute name."

"That's it, it's just a cute name. He needs something unique and memorable, like Mordecai or Rigby." He laughed, hoping she wouldn't get the reference.

"Alright, you're just fucking with me… We're not naming our son after a raccoon or a bird cartoon character!" She smacked his arm and laughed. "At least come up with a name you'd actually love for him to have… No double first name though, Juan Carlos or Javier Miguel, or Jesus Christo." She smirked.

Juice rolled his eyes. "Javier Miguel is what my Ma wanted me to name my first born son."

"Oh, I know… She told me that, said I was going to give birth to a beautiful baby boy and name him Javier Miguel and I looked at her and laughed." Bri shook her head and rubbed her belly. "No offense but I don't want to name him Javier Miguel because I don't really like the name. I like Nolan the best but you can come up with some names and I'll hear them out."

"Not even a consideration." He watched as she moved off the bed and into their walk-in closet before reemerging in a long flowy dress that accentuated her breasts and just barely hugged her belly. "You look good but you should really shower first."

"It's my lazy house dress." She shrugged her shoulders and twirled around. "I'll shower after I get something to eat for the kid, who doesn't have a name anymore… Our poor nameless baby boy."

"Makes your ass look huge." Juice smiled and stood up. "You go eat, I'm going to take a shower and if you fall asleep without showering, I'll drop your ass into the swimming pool." He kissed her forehead and smiled at her once more.

Bri rolled her eyes. "You got a lot of nerve, you crawled into bed with me all smelly and we had sex and now I'm the one who needs to shower before I get into my bed? Bullshit, for that, I'm going to shower in Monica's bathroom and cuddle with her. I miss my little monkey anyway, she's been having a hard time adjusting to all of this."

"I'll see you at breakfast then… I'll be cooking for us." He kissed her lips and smirked. "Love you baby."

"Love you too." She smiled up at him. "Go get your normal smell back."

**February 4, 2009**

"I knew you'd look hot in a bikini with your baby bump babe." Juice wrapped his arms around Bri's shoulders and smiled proudly as he felt his feet sink into the wet sand. "I can't believe it's warm enough for the beach in February."

Bri rolled her eyes and pushed back against him. "It's a weird ass climate, that's for sure. I don't see why you guys don't have true seasons."

"Overrated, all we need is Spring, Summer and Fall… Left winter back in Queens." He chuckled as he lowered them down to the ground. "So, your birthday is coming up, what do you want to do?"

"Don't remind me, I'm gonna be a year closer to thirty and that is scary." The brunette ran her fingers through her messy wavy hair and smiled as she watched Monica build a sandcastle with Igor. "Never pegged him as an architect that one… Elijah builds the best sandcastles, he helped me build a dozen when I was ten and was left out by my siblings during a trip to the beach."

"Still gotta celebrate it Bri." He tugged on her bikini top and feigned innocent when it gave way. "I didn't mean to do that, I swear!"

"You're a horrible person… We're not on a private beach dumbass." She tied her top back and smirked. "I don't wanna celebrate my birthday. I will have cake and I will take sixteen naps that day and be a happy, pregnant woman."

"It was an accident." He laughed and held up his hands. "I can do that, just cake and lots of cuddles and love for you… Maybe a present or something."

"Sure." Bri turned around and smiled at him. "Yes, I just wanna be sleepy, hormonal and loved on for my birthday… If you buy me a birthday present, it better be edible or a diamond."

"It'll be a mixture." Juice rubbed her belly, smiling as he felt his son move around. "Wow, it still gets me excited to know we made a kid together and he's just having a good ass time moving around inside of you like you're some five star resort or something."

"Two star motel in the hood." The brunette laughed. "He's trying to get comfortable or something babe… It's weird as hell, sometimes it keeps me up at night, like I'll be counting his kicks and all of that good shit that I'm supposed to be doing and I'll keep thinking about it over and over again and I'll just be laying wide awake, wondering what he's trying to accomplish by kicking my bladder like it's a ball."

"Hyperactive already." He smiled and pressed on her stomach again, earning another swift rounds of kicks. "That's my boy."

"Oh great, we're in for a lifetime of teachers and doctors telling us to medicate our child." Bri laughed and smiled as Monica dropped down next to her. "Hey m'love, what're you doing? Did you two finish the castle?"

Monica nodded. "We finished it and then the ocean took it away! It was sad." She poked at her mom's stomach and laughed. "He kicked me!"

"You poked him my love!" The brunette smiled. "It's his way of saying hi to you baby."

"Are you sure we have to keep him? We can give him to a nice family in Antarctica." The six year old mused, turning her head sideways as she looked at her mom's belly. "Is he going to be cute? Will you forget about me like Happy did?"

"Never gonna forget about you my love." Bri pulled the tiny brunette towards her. "You're my monkey, I'm not going to forget about you. I'm gonna love on you and kiss on you and I'll still cuddle with you in your princess bed. You're just going to get a little brother to boss around when he understands you. Happy didn't forget about you either… He's just been busy."

"You really think he'll listen to me?" Monica smiled. "I'm gonna make him clean my room and call me Princess! He's going to be my servant and maid."

"Well, damn… I think I've raised a baby dictator!" Bri laughed. "You can boss him around but if you make him cry, I'll have to discipline you. Do you understand me Monica Elizaveta?"

"Yeah! I won't make him cry or nothin'! I promise." She nodded her head eagerly. "Do you know that Igor has a son?"

"Yes! He's my little brother, I boss his ass around." The older brunette smirked. "His name is Spike! He's scary, like Aleksandr's brother!" Monica screamed and took off back towards Igor. "Well, she's got an evil mind, that one."

"Igor has a son?" Juice looked down the beach and frowned. "He doesn't seem like the time to have a son…"

"He doesn't, he has a dog, named Spike who he likes to say is his son because he raised it. Bottle fed the thing and everything. I think we all forget that these men have hearts and can be really compassionate." Bri looked at Juice and raised her arms. "I have to go pee, right now. Help me up babe."

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "I don't see why you just don't go pee in the ocean."

"I also am hungry and like the thought of washing my hands after I tinkle." She shook her head as they walked back towards the house. "Did you bring the mango? I need like a mango, pineapple, orange smoothie with ice cream and not that damn yogurt you keep trying to sneak into my goddamn diet. I'm on track with my weight baby… I'm not going to balloon another fifteen pounds with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. I'm only set to gain another ten pounds or so, bringing me up to a questionably thirty pound weight gain."

Juice shook his head. "Just thirty pounds? All the weight went to your ass, tits, hips and thighs. You don't look that pregnant babe."

"Are you calling me fat right now? I'd choose my words oh so carefully if I were you." She smacked his bare chest before walking into the bathroom. "I can't believe you're calling me fat right now!"

"I'm not calling you fat, I just am saying it's not a bad weight gain, you've gained it in all of the right places." He sat down on the sink and looked at her. "What? Like I've never sat in the bathroom while you peed before… I've watched you pee in a damn bush before Bri."

Bri laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I know you have my dear… Hey, remember when we were gonna get married in Vegas?"

"I do." Juice moved over as she washed her hands. "What about it?"

"I had a dream last night, this morning… I don't know anymore but I had a dream that we had gotten married and when we got home everyone was just pissed at us and when we stood up for ourselves, everyone turned into a balloon and floated away." The brunette shrugged and laughed as she dried her hands off. "We looked good though, I was wearing this killer black wedding gown and you were in an all black tuxedo with a pop of red. It was the perfect use of color coordination. So, what I'm saying is, if we get married, I'm wearing a black gown and no one can fucking stop me."

"Balloons? Black wedding dress? I thought the point of a wedding was to show your purity." He frowned as he began to wash his hands.

Bri scoffed. "I'm not pure, I'm having a kid out of wedlock. I've lived with a man before being married to him. I had this span of life where I ate pussy… I'm not pure and I'm not very religious either so fuck a white wedding dress, I want a black one. I'm going to look like a pin up girl or something… I'll figure it out if you pop the question."

Juice nodded and kissed her. "You can wear whatever you want on the wedding day." He smiled as he thought about the ring he had eyed a few days before. "May have to wait until after the kid is here for me to pop the question… But I have every intention on asking you." He kissed her again and rubbed the back of her neck. "Whatever we do for the wedding, it's bound to be outta control and unique."

"I can wait until after Nolan is here… Did you decide on a different name yet baby?" She watched him closely as he began to chop up a mango.

"Yeah, I have a list of names." He paused and pulled a piece of paper from his wallet that was sitting on the counter. "Read it over and pick a name that you like."

"You want to name the kid Bowie? Um, no fucking thanks… Balboa, Tony, Sinatra? Babe, I think you were drunk when you made this damn list." Bri frowned as she continued to read down the list. "You ranked Nolan twenty of twenty? That's just straight fucked up."

Juice shrugged. "It was a random order… I think I want to still look into name options, so don't get anything monogrammed or whatever." He slid her a smoothie and leaned over the island to press a kiss to her lips. "I'll find the perfect one, I promise."

* * *

**Sorry for the late update, was sick and had no inspiration but now I'm back and writing. So as always let me know what you thought, yeah?**


	34. Chapter 34 Love

**February 10, 2009**

"I feel guilty." Juice looked over at the brunette sitting on the bed and groaned as he lifted himself onto the dresser. "This is technically cheating, I mean… Do you think she'll see it as cheating? I'm so fucking confused about this whole situation. I have the love of my life, she's pregnant with my son and I'm sitting here. In this sleazy place, paying you so I can talk to someone who doesn't really talk back."

The brunette shrugged. "I don't think it's cheating… We're not fucking or anything, you're giving me money to sit around, eat junk food and listen to you talk about what's stressing you out." She smiled at him before taking a bite of her twizzler. "It's not cheating, you're paying for my listening skills, nothing wrong with that."

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his head. "She's going to freak out when she sees I cut my hair back into a mohawk… She liked it longer, I like it like this. Prevents overheating when I'm riding and working."

She shook her head. "I like it better like that… I didn't get the whole full head of hair thing anyway. It wasn't you or who I first met when I got here. This is you though. It screams Juice."

"Thanks." He smiled nervously and nodded. "It feels like it's me… I think she'll understand when I tell her I wanted it my way. She's pretty cool but the hormones are what have her crazy as hell and unpredictable."

"I had a kid. Gave her up for adoption, didn't want her in this fucked up life I was living. She lives on the good side of town. I see her sometimes at the park, laughing having fun." She sighed before grabbing a handful of Skittles. "You two gonna keep the baby and bring it up in the outlaw life?"

Juice blinked at her. "Yes, we're going to keep him. She's not an outlaw, she's a surgeon. I'm the outlaw but I have no real threats in my life unless I'm with the club. I'm pretty lowkey and a loner. I just don't go around rocking the boat. You ever going to have another kid Gigi?"

"No, no. My body is far too fucked up to have another baby. I'm just going to enjoy my nieces and nephews." Gigi smiled. "You want more after this kid? How many do you want?"

"I'd like at least one more… She has one from a previous marriage, so we'd have three altogether. That's my number, three is a good number for me." He moved off the dresser and towards the bed, quickly lining up the snacks the young woman had managed to toss all over the bed. "It was bugging me." He shrugged before moving back to the dresser and taking his seat again.

"You're the cleanest man I've met in my life." She shook her head and picked up the bag of chips sitting in front of her. "You must be a real joy to live with, cleaning and organizing everything in sight."

"I haven't had any complaints yet." Juice crossed his arms and looked out the dingy window and sighed. "It's getting late, I think we should wrap this up. I have to head home, put the finishing touches on my girlfriend's birthday surprise."

Gigi nodded. "Same time next week?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he passed her a few folded bills. "I know I already paid you but it's a tip. Buy yourself something nice or whatever, don't log it in the books."

"Thanks Juice." The brunette smiled, slipping the cash into her sock. "Ride safe."

"Welcome." Juice nodded and flashed her a small smile before leaving the room and her behind to tend to whatever poor soul was scheduled after him.

**SOA**

"Bri." Juice walked into the candle lit room, the sound of a heartbeat flooding over his senses. "What is that? Is that the baby's heartbeat?"

"Yeah. I got this new at home ultrasound thingy, it let's us hear his heartbeat whenever we wanna hear it." Bri held it up in the air and wiggled it. "Amazing huh? We managed to create another life."

"That's fucking cool." He flashed a goofy smile before climbing into bed with his girlfriend, his hand immediately on her belly. "I cut my hair, I wasn't feeling the other style."

"It's fine baby, it was nice to run my fingers through a head full of hair just for a little bit. Whatever makes you happy though." She kissed him and ran a hand over the strip of hair. "It's who you are now, I get it. Goes with your goofy personality too."

Juice laughed. "I'm gonna give our son a mohawk when he's got enough hair. I just need to let you know in case you leave one morning and he has hair and you come back and he has a mohawk with temporary tattoos going down the sides."

"Oh my fuck… I would be pissed but then I'd probably take a ton of pictures because it'd be cute as fuck. A little baby Juice! Your little mohawked minion." Bri laughed and reached over to the nightstand and turned the light on. "You gonna put all these candles out for me? I don't have the lung capacity to do it."

"I'll be in heaven, get him some combat boots, dickies, and a too small shirt." He laughed as he blew out each candle before crawling back into bed. "I need him to be my little carbon copy."

"With my nose though… You're nose suits you but I like my nose for a kid better… Look at Monica's cute little nose." Bri rolled to her side, resting her legs on her pregnancy pillow in a poor attempt to get comfortable. "I'm so ready for this kid to evacuate my womb, I need to be able to sleep on my stomach again."

"Yes, your nose." He nodded and rubbed her back and stomach. "Few more months and you'll be free to sleep on your stomach and soak the pillows with your drool."

"I'm excited to drool on my pillows again." She laughed and buried her face into the blankets before sighing. "You come up with a name yet?"

"Roman Javier Ortiz." He smiled. "Doesn't it sound cool?"

"I actually love that name, a lot. Baby Roman, Rome for short. I can get mad and be like Roman Javier, I swear if your ass is in the dirt again, I'll send you to an orphanage." Bri chuckled. "Do you like that name kid? Roman?" She rubbed her stomach and smiled when she got a kick in response. "I think he likes it."

"It was between Jagger and Roman, but Jagger Ortiz seems like a drink you'd order." Juice shrugged. "You sure you love it? He'll be named that forever."

"Ha." She scoffed. "I'm glad you picked Roman instead, it's better. I don't know any Romans, I do now like three Jaggers… Surfer guys and stoners."

"The stoners are my people." He laughed. "Roman Ortiz, future baseball player. I can see that shit now."

Bri smirked. "You keep the dream alive… I'm going to try to get some sleep before it's too late for me to bother. Love you babe."

"Love you too." He pulled her closer and smiled. "Sweet dreams."

**February 13, 2009**

"Back so soon?" Gigi opened the door and smiled up at Juice as she slid to the side to allow him to enter. "What's wrong?"

"Just needed some company." Juice shrugged out of his hoody and kutte, hanging both on the hook beside the door. "Stressful day, don't wanna take my shit back home and dump it on Bri. Especially since she's pregnant and was in a bad mood this morning when I left her." He sat on the foot of the bed, dropping his head. "Tomorrow is her birthday, she wants to keep shit simple, just sleeping and eating."

"Her birthday is on Valentine's day?" The brunette sat on the bed and rubbed Juice's back and smiled. "That's intense, you have to celebrate both without one outshining the other."

"Yeah." He nodded slowly and turned around to look at the woman. "Any special plans for tomorrow? Any Valentines?"

"Nope, just work. No special Valentine." She shrugged. "It's my best work day."

"I guess that's good." Juice sighed and laid out on the bed. "I bought her a ring, I want to ask her to marry me but I'm not sure if the time is right. Especially since I'm here, doing this shit with you when I could be talking to her." He pulled the ring box from his pocket and opened it. His eyes studying the diamond carefully before turning it to show GiGi. "I know she'll love it, she's a rich girl but she likes the vintage type rings like this. She had a ring like this when we were sixteen, someone jumped her for it and she never got it back."

"It's beautiful." She smiled down at him. "I don't think you're doing anything wrong… I'm pretty sure other guys pay for just companionship. I think if she ever found out that she would most likely understand because it hasn't gotten physical."

Juice groaned as he sat up. "That's the thing, sometimes emotional connections are worse than a physical one… It'll look worse in her eyes than it is in ours."

"You tell me things about her but you never use her name… What's up with that?" Gigi hugged the pillow to her chest and looked at him.

"It'll make it seem more real and fucked up than it is already… Her name is Brianna." He mumbled as he pulled his phone out and passed it to her. "That's her, she's gorgeous as hell and I'm in love with her but I feel guilty bringing my shit to her. I'm supposed to be some hardened outlaw but I can't even handle the stress and I can't fucking handle all the bad shit, like the killing of people… I can't let her see me like this, I need to be strong for her. I need to be strong for my son."

"Wow, she is gorgeous." She stared at the phone before passing it back, a feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. She never took Juice seriously, hell she thought most of the stuff that came out of his mouth was bullshit. This, seeing a picture of him and his girlfriend put everything in perspective. "If she's in love with you, I'm sure she'd love you even at times like this. You have to start talking more to her and less to me."

Juice sat up and nodded. "Yeah… I guess I'll try that. If it fails, I'll be back." He flashed her a weak smile before passing her some cash. "I stuck a little extra in there. Be your own Valentine or something."

**February 14, 2009**

"It's my birthday, I can cry if I want to." Bri mumbled as she buried her face further into her pillow and sniffled. "Today is supposed to be happy and fun. I'm not happy and I'm definitely not having any fucking fun! Where is everyone?"

"Who even knows?" Juice frowned and continued to rub her back for her. "It's not even noon yet babe… Give 'em sometime before you think they just blew off your birthday. You can do that right? Relax and have a little fun… It's what you wanted."

The brunette nodded, rolling onto her back before looking at her boyfriend. "You're right. I wanted a lazy day. I just want to be pregnant and sleep. I did expect more happy birthdays though. Or at least Jacey and Happy to pop over with my Cam."

"It's still earlier, you need to relax." He shook his head and pulled her into a sitting position. "I have presents for you to open. I don't know if you wanna do it now or later. I just need you to know that I didn't forget your birthday or Valentine's." He smiled before kissing her softly. "Now, stop crying and let's be lazy asses. Like old times."

"I'll wait until later to open the presents." She smiled at him. "You're the best, especially for dealing with me and my hormones… I don't know how you manage to take on your club shit and mine as well. I love you Juan Carlos."

"I love you too Brianna." He smiled and kissed her again. "Let's watch one of your scary Russian movies and you can occasionally fill me in on what's being said."

Bri rolled her eyes. "I'm down for that." She grabbed the remote from the nightstand and passed it to him. "You choose which one, there's like a dozen on the tv to pick from."

"What's the kid up to today?" He watched her sit back against the pillows before rubbing on her stomach and smiling when he felt kicks. "He seems to be in a good mood today."

"He really is." She nodded and watched him continue pressing on her stomach. "I can't wait until he's here… I need him to be here already. I'm so excited to meet him and see whose features he has more of."

Juice nodded and pulled her forward before taking a spot behind her, his hands rubbing her stomach in lazy circles as he rested his head on her shoulder. "I can't wait until he's here too. I'm going to teach him so much useful shit. I'm gonna be around for him like my mom was around for me." He made a silent reminder to himself, he was going to be a better father than his ever way. Most importantly, he was going to be around for his son. Give him advice, tell him his life story and pray that he doesn't make the same dumbass mistakes. He needed his son to be better than him, he needed him to strive for something more than a biker in a small ass town.

"You'll be an amazing dad… Like Aleksandr but less scary." She laughed and ran her fingers through her hair. "So, about these presents… I want them now."

He smirked and rolled from behind her. "Alright, you can have all but one… That one has to wait until later and when we're chilling by the pool." He moved away from her and grabbed three red bags from the closet and walked back towards her. "I hope you like everything baby."

"Oh, three bags and a surprise gift." She looked into the first bag, pulling out the black tissue paper before pulling out a framed picture of her and Juice from back in the tenth grade. "Oh my God! Look at us, baby faced and in love. I didn't have this picture!" She hugged it to her chest before passing it to Juice. "Put it on the nightstand, that one is never moving from that spot. I'll see it every morning."

He laughed as he placed the picture on the nightstand. "It was one of my favorites… Had it in storage since I moved out here. Went to dig it out."

"Ain't that romantic and shit." Bri smirked as she pulled out the tissue paper of the next bag before reaching in. "A dress…." She held it up and smiled. "I think this is more for you that it is for me… My tits are going to bust out of this thing babe!" She smacked his arm before reaching back into the bag and pulling out a another dress. "Definitely for you… Short and white. I don't think this is going to cover my ass because my belly."

"I was hoping it wouldn't… The long red one for public, the short white one for me in here." Juice smirked. "Open the next one… It's bound to be your favorite."

She kissed his cheek before reaching in and pulling out the bag that was nestled inside of the bigger red bag, her eyes instantly recognizing the symbol on the bag. "You didn't!" She opened the bag and looked inside and smiled. "Babe! You got me a Louis Vuitton!" She hugged the handbag to her chest and grinned. "I love it! I fucking love it babe! How'd you know I wanted this one though!?"

"I snooped a little in your browsing history then checked the closet to make sure you didn't have that one." He smiled proudly, loving the look on her face. "Happy birthday, happy Valentine's day babe."

"You did amazing babe… I don't know how you're gonna top this." Bri turned the bag over in her hands and smiled. "Nik is gonna be so jealous of this bag."

"Show it off… When we sit outside later, wear the red dress." Juice kissed her before moving back behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I love you in white but you in red just does something to me."

**SOA**

Bri looked at her reflection once more, shaking her head at the way the top of the dress fit. She was right earlier when she told Juice her tits would bust out of this dress but now it was just ridiculous. "I swear I hear the seams ripping." She adjusted it one last time before rubbing her stomach, feeling baby Roman move around. "You must be nervous too… I wonder what that goofball of a dad you have is up to." She turned to the side once more before slipping her feet into her favorite black flats.

She ran her fingers through her hair as she moved out of the room. Taking her time down the stairs, not wanting to risk any type of fall this late in her pregnancy. She smiled as Monster looked up from his spot on the floor before laying his head back down and ignoring her again. "Nice to see you too." She rolled her eyes as she walked the long hall out to the backyard, her eyes falling on a table where Monica was sitting, swinging her legs back and forth as she looked up at Juice who was standing off to the side.

"She's here!" Monica tugged on Juice's shirt and pointed a dainty finger towards her mom. "She looks so pretty!"

Juice turned around slowly, his breath hitching as he nodded. "She looks gorgeous." He looked down at Monica and smiled. "Remember what we rehearsed?"

Monica nodded. "Yes, I remember! We went over it a million times!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Mommy you look so pretty!"

"Thanks monkey." Bri kissed her and smiled before sitting down. "This is a lovely set up, did you two do this together?" She smiled at the sunflowers sitting in the middle of the table. "You guys were in my garden, I see."

He nodded. "Wanted to end your day with something special and memorable."

"Two of my favorite people treating me to dinner… This is memorable _and_ special. This is better than the handbag." She smiled as he placed a plate of food in front of her and Monica. "You guys cooked and everything… I'm spoiled today… How long was I napping for?"

"You were out for about six hours today." He shrugged as he watched her frown and take a sip of her lemonade. "You wanted to nap today, so we let you sleep and it allowed us to do this dinner for you." He leaned towards her and gave her a kiss.

Bri laughed. "I feel well rested… I'm loving this meal too, steak and fries my favorite. I know Moni had to be the one to season these things. I see all the parmesan baby girl."

Monica nodded. "It taste good huh? I love fries." She made a kissy face before flashing a smile, her bottom two teeth missing. "There easy to eat! I've been losing my teeth and getting lots of money from Aleksandr!"

"Not the tooth fairy?" The brunette shook her head.

"Aleksandr said she doesn't exist but he'll give me money so I can buy myself new teeth… I put it in my piggy bank and in a little while new teeth should start growing in." Monica shrugged. "I don't think I want the teeth back, I like having the money more."

Bri chuckled. "Money hungry already… You'll have money my love. You can afford to buy your teeth back… They'll be better than the old ones."

"Really?" The six year old smiled again. "I'm gonna bite everything with the new ones."

Juice laughed and looked at the mini version of his girlfriend. "Remember, grab the desserts when we're finished."

"I made cupcakes!" Monica smiled at Bri. "Red velvet ones."

"Those are my favorite kind!" Bri pushed her plate away and rubbed her stomach. "He doesn't want anymore… I think I ate too fast."

He looked at the empty plate and nodded. "You're gonna be pounding back tums later babe." He rubbed her back and laughed when she burped. "I bet that made you feel better."

"Yeah a little bit… That food was just really delicious." She smiled at him before looking at Monica who was playing with her food more than she was eating it. "If you're gonna play with your food, you're done my dear."

"I'm waiting for Juice to finish so I can get the cupcakes." Monica pushed her plate away and looked at Juice was was finishing off the last of his steak. "You're gonna love the cupcakes… We worked really hard to decorate them."

"I'm finished." He smirked at her. "Happy now Moni?"

She nodded and moved off her chair and towards the table by the grill. "I got the cupcakes." She kept them out of Bri's view as Juice cleared the table.

"Let's see 'em." Bri smiled down at Monica, her eyes lighting up as the cupcakes were placed in front of her. "These look amazing monkey! You and Juice did that? They're cute, I cannot wait to taste them." She picked up a cupcake and took a small bite from the cupcake. "Oh, they're delicious."

"Bri." Juice tapped her shoulder, watching her slowly turn around and cover her mouth. "This is probably unexpected, well at least I'm hoping you didn't suspect this to happen…" He smiled at her before looking at Monica who nodded and smiled. "We've been through some shit, we were apart for a long time but when I laid eyes on you again, it was like we never were apart and that the bad shit never happened. We're far from being perfect as individuals, and I think together we're perfect in our own weird way… I want to know, if you'll do me the honor of being my wife, my best friend, my lover, my biggest supporter for the rest of our life together, will you marry me?"

The brunette nodded her head, unable to form any words as she held her hand out and watched him slip the ring on before he stood up and pulled her off her seat and into a hug, kissing her before wiping away the tears rolling down her face. "Yes!" She finally squeaked as she laughed and cried. "I can't believe this… You two were working together… You knew about this huh?" She stooped down and hugged Monica tightly. "God, this is even more memorable and special." She eyed the ring on her finger and smiled harder, feeling her cheeks begin to hurt. "It looks like the one I got taken from me but prettier." She kissed him one last time before sitting back down and rubbing her belly. "I guess we're gonna be stuck together forever."

He smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Been wanting to do that since we got back from the Vegas trip but never had the time to plan anything out… I even asked Aleksandr and the guys for their blessings, Nik and Lana as well… I even got Monica's blessing, I promised her she'd be the flower girl."

Bri laughed. "I'm fucking excited about this… Wait until I tell Jacey! She's going to be over the moon with excitement about being a bridesmaid." She looked at the pair standing in front of her and smiled. "We're gonna be a real cool family."

Juice smirked, watching Bri and Monica look at the ring. He had done it, given his girlfriend the perfect birthday surprise. It was a huge accomplishment, he was finally getting shit right. He was going to stay away from Gigi and do his best to be open and honest with Bri. "I'm finally making an honest woman out of your ass. I love you."

* * *

**Alright, I know you guys are gonna have a lot to say about this chapter... lol so let me know what you thought. (:  
**


	35. Chapter 35 Parents

**February 28, 2009 **

"Two weeks and I still haven't managed to go see Jacey and tell her the news." Bri sighed and looked back at Elijah who was sitting at the foot of her bed, his face set into a serious scowl as he nodded his head up and down slowly. "Does that make me a bad friend? Because I haven't told her what happened?"

Elijah shook his head. "No, that doesn't make you a bad friend. You don't have to do anything if you're not feeling up to it. The past two weeks you've been ill and you have every right to have slept through each and every day."

The brunette gave a single nod as she chewed on her bottom lip and toyed with the very impressively sized ring on her finger. "It's just weird, we're neighbors and we don't even make the time to see one another. I know she's busy with Camryn and I'm busy trying not to throw up on everyone but still, we suck at being friends these days. It's sad."

He stood up and straightened out his suit jacket. "We'll go over there and see her. Check on baby Camryn and you two can talk and you can share the good news with her. It's a simple solution to an unnecessary problem. Just reach out and talk to her."

"You're too smart for your own good. Nothing is _simple_ when it comes to Jacey and me. Our friendship seems to be complicated. We're like a lesbian couple or some shit that's cheating on the other with men." Bri rubbed her stomach and groaned. "Roman is killing me and I can't wait until this kid is out of me. I need to see what he looks already, I need to hear how he cries, laughs, babbles, walks and talks. I just want my son here already."

Elijah smiled and nodded. "Stop procrastinating my darling… We should head over, do you need me to drive or can you walk fine?"

"I'm pregnant not disabled. I also think my pregnancy waddle is cute as hell." She held her belly and moved towards the door. "See? Cute as hell… I love it." She moved out of the room and slowly down the stairs, feeling Elijah's silent presence behind her. "Why do you like Jacey so much? You even like her more than me and I've known you since you were twenty."

He shrugged watching the brunette. "I think she's funny. I love her feisty personality and it doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes." He scrunched up his face, instantly regretting admitting all of that to the brunette. "You know I'm protective of everyone you love."

Bri rolled her eyes and smirked as they started down the driveway. "Nice save Elijah." She paused and turned around. "Take the jacket off and roll up your sleeves so you look like less of an assassin and more of a GQ cover man." She smiled as he took off the jacket and rolled his sleeves up quickly, just as he did when he was handling business. "There, you look handsome and less imposing."

Elijah nodded and continued to follow after the brunette. "Why is this one called the BatCave?"

"You see how it has a slight dip in the driveway where the garage is? It's like driving the car into a cave." She shrugged as they walked up the pathway and to the large front door. "I feel like I should have brought cupcakes or some shit." She pressed the doorbell once, reminding herself that Camryn could be asleep and she didn't want to risk waking her up and having to face an upset Jacey or an upset Happy.

"Hey." Happy looked at the pregnant brunette as he held the door open before his dark eyes landed on Elijah, meeting his gaze briefly before turning his attention back to Bri. "Jacey is in the living room, Cam is awake."

Bri smiled and grabbed Elijah's hand and pulled him inside of the large house with her before pausing to step out of her sneakers. "House rule, no shoes…" She watched him take off his shoes before continuing on into the livingroom. "Jacey!" She smiled before dropping onto the sofa and looking at Camryn. "Well, isn't she a goddamn beauty."

"Here, let me correct you. She's an evil spawn that hates her creator." Jacey shook her head. "You're absolutely gorgeous though... Pregnancy is right for you, my Bri!l the blonde stood up and hugged her best friend. "I'm sorry I haven't talked to you recently, she doesn't let anyone sleep unless she's cuddling with you. The brat."

"Like Roman is any better? He decided to make me sick for the last two weeks… I've been dead!" She shook her head. "It's fine, I haven't been talking to you much either. You guys have spoiled her already! Man! I didn't even get the chance to put her in a tutu and matching hair bow either. So, anything new in life besides not being able to sleep without this cute cuddle buddy?"

Jacey shrugged, passing her daughter off to Bri. "Oh no no, her father has her spoiled." The blonde shook her head. "Not really, we are planning another beach trip though. I just hope you and Juice can join us again." She smiled at Bri before turning her attention onto Elijah. "Elijah! Would you shut up? You're talking way too much!?" She grinned at him.

"Just admiring the child." Elijah smiled at Jacey. "She's very beautiful."

The blonde shrugged. "We all know who to thank for that." She smiled, looking back at Camryn.

"About the Juice and the trip thing." Bri looked at Jacey. "Don't know if that'll happen… You two may have to go alone."

Jacey slowly nodded. "Is everything ok?"

"Oh, yeah. You know." She shrugged. "He proposed to me on my birthday… So wedding planning is all he can think of now. He's been consumed by it."

Jacey nodded again. "Well shit, B, thanks for telling me... Congratulations."

"I just told you… Thanks." Bri shrugged again. "It's not that big of a deal."

The blonde shrugged. "Getting engaged is a very big deal, babe."

"Second time around…" The brunette wiggled her finger. "At least he has amazing taste in diamonds."

Jacey gasped, mindful not to disturb Camryn. "That's absolutely beautiful... I wish Hap would propose to me." She looked away from Bri and Cam to look at Elijah. "What do you think about the engagement?"

"I'm supportive of it. I think it's good for the two of them." Elijah smiled. "I'm sure Happy will propose to you in his own time. He'd be a fool not to."

Jacey's blue eyes flickered to Bri before flickering to her lap then finally meeting Elijah's again. "What could possibly make you say that?"

"Years of wisdom and years of babysitting the two of you. You're a keeper Jacey, if he doesn't propose to you then I suggest you find someone who will." The man crossed his arms and nodded sternly.

She shrugged and nodded. "Arent you just full of answers?" She shook her head. "Elijah, how old are you?"

"I'm thirty nine." Elijah looked at the blonde. "What? I have years of wisdom…"

Jacey laughed, shaking her head. "Oh come on... you're still just a baby."

"A handsome ass baby." Bri scoffed and looked at Elijah. "You've seen him out of his suit right? Amazing!" She smirked as the man blushed. "He's a shy one."

The blonde looked at him before turning to Bri. "No way... Ok you have to lose the suit!" She smiled at him. "It's cute though, I like it."

Elijah cleared his throat and looked away from the young women. "This is a lovely home… Bri finally explained to me why it's referred to as the Bat Cave."

"Elijah..." Jacey smirked, looking at Bri and Camryn again. "Cammie wants to know, too." She grinned looking back at the handsome man.

"I can't very well disrobe right here." He looked around and shook his head. "It'll have to wait until another time. A pool party perhaps."

Bri shook her head making Jacey laugh. "You're going to make her very upset..." Jacey crossed her arms. "Are you seriously ok with knowing you made a sweet little babygirl upset?"

Elijah groaned and stood up. "I'm not gonna make her upset." He started unbuttoning his shirt. "Either of you, feel free to stop this nonsense…"

"I don't know... We've always enjoyed strippers... Especially good ones." Jacey nodded, smirking. "You'd so make her cry..."

He shook his head and finished removing his shirt before passing it to Bri. "There, are you two happy now?" He crossed his arms and sat back down. "I feel so cold."

"Well I feel much better, knowing you are just as attractive with the shirt on as it is off..." Jacey shrugged, smiling. "Give him his shirt back, Bri."

"I'm keeping it." Bri draped the shirt over her legs and smiled. "Oh, I have a serious question for you Jacey, I have to ask it before I leave here today. Will you be my maid of honor? My head bitch? The Robin to my Batman? The strawberries in my lemonade?"

Jacey laughed. "Wonder how Hap would react if he walked in here right now, Elijah all shirtless and whatnot." She shrugged. "What? Seriously, Bri? I figured you'd ask Svet or Nik!"

"Hap would sit in his recliner and glare at Elijah." The brunette laughed. "Yes seriously! Nope, nope. I have to ask my Jacey because you've been there a lot for me even if we do have our problems but you're the only one I would ever consider for the position. You're my best friend and sister."

Jacey nodding, laughing. "He'd be pissed..." She shook her head before smiling and leaning over to kiss Bri's head. "Yes! I'd love to be your maid of honor!"

"But look at him!" Bri winked at Elijah before passing his shirt back to him. "Yay! I'm excited for this now."

"I am and I see exactly what you see, even the part where he's trying so hard to ignore us." Jacey smirked. "I can't for all the craziness to start, especially after this sweet little man gets here."

"Could never ignore the two of you." Elijah buttoned his shirt and smiled at Jacey. "We're all hoping he gets here fast… Had enough of hormonal Brianna."

"I've earned the nickname Brizilla." Bri rolled her eyes. "It's not my fault though."

Jacey rolled her eyes before the icy blue orbs landed on the man across the room again. "You're trying to ignore us so bad..." She grinned. "Don't know why though, we're just complimenting you." Jacey shook her head. "Can't be worse than I was... Shit I moved across the country to fix my meanness..."

"Nope, not ignoring you." Elijah shook his head. "I just don't know how to take a compliment. Her temper is through the roof but I think you still have her beat. She won't be needing to move anytime soon."

Jacey scoffed. "Oh whatever... you were fully prepared to live with me there too. Best friends for life..." She smirked, shaking her head. "She's free to do whatever she pleases so long as me and Cam are with her if she does choose to run away!"

He laughed. "I was going to live with you because I wanted to make sure you were taken care of. I also liked the house and the beach." He shrugged. "If she leaves, I'll be sure to send you the Princess to live with her. You know how she is, she'll sneak off when none of us are looking."

"And she'll come right to her true love... Which is definitely not Juicy Fruitloop..." Jacey rolled her eyes. "You were gonna stay because I''m your favorite person and you love me."

Elijah shrugged. "You're my favorite, I'll admit that."

"Well that was a plot twist." Bri glared at the man. "I see how it is… I think I'm going to start toting around Igor or Frey now… I'm so chaffed by this betrayal…"

Jacey caught Camryn starting to stir and she smiled. "I guess she's with you on that, B..."

"Nah, it's okay. Elijah favors blondes… It was only a matter of time until he replaced me with one." The brunette tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Frey will say I'm his favorite."

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know... But she is not liking something." She smirked when she saw her daughter telltale sign of being upset when Camryn scrunched up her face. "Put her against your chest. Odds are she's wanting to cuddle."

"Roman probably kicked her." Bri adjusted the baby girl and smiled. "He's a dick like his dad."

Jacey moved closer to the brunette and started poking at her belly. "Don't kick your girlfriend, that's not very nice, Roman!" She rubbed Bri's belly, feeling a flutter of kicks.

"He's either a soccer player, kickboxer, or the next Michael Phelps." The brunette smiled. "Juice renamed him. I guess Nolan was too white or something."

The blonde shook her head. "Kickboxer... he and Hap can bond now." She laughed, shrugging. "I don't know, babe, I don't really like the name Roman."

"I need to bug him about something before I go… I have a very tiny brunette that is missing the attention of a very tall meanie face." Bri shrugged. "Juice loves it, so for now he's Roman but I know Juice will change the kid's name at the last minute. I just hope it won't be to Juan Carlos the second."

Jacey nodded, pointing toward the hall. "You should know where he is..." She smiled, shrugging again. "You should both have say-so in the name."

"She's banned from naming the kid… She was trying to name him Jasper last night." Elijah shook his head. "They're a mess when it comes to the naming process."

The blonde shook her head. "Poor baby... She'll get through it just fine... I did."

"You were so strong." Bri smiled. "I don't know about this kid… He is an asshole and makes me tinkle a dozen times at night but is nice during the day. Don't even get me started on Juice… He's been speaking French to the kid, Juice learns French to teach the kid."

Jacey smiled, shaking her head. "She just liked to play soccer with her neighbors. Maybe it's him that has to tinkle..." She stood up and picked Camryn up from Bri's chest. "Go talk to Hap, he's not busy..."

"I guess I can do that… Keep an eye on Elijah and don't let him eat any junk food if he wanders into your kitchen." The brunette pushed up off the sofa. "Take notice of the cute waddle this time Elijah, I'll be waiting for your opinion on it." She moved out of the living room and down the hall before stopping outside of the studio and knocking lightly, waiting for Happy to give her permission to enter.

"Come in.." He looked up from his sketchpad, eyeing the door.

"Hey best friend." Bri smiled as she walked in. "How's fatherhood treating you?"

He shook his head, shrugging. "She doesn't like sleeping that much, likes to lay all over you though. Oh and she's got some damn jealous streak."

"Whose jealousy did she get? Yours or Jacey's?" She sat down on a stool and tapped her nails on the tabletop. "I've actually come here to have a talk about Monica."

Hap shrugged. "I say hers but that's bullshit... She's a mean little thing though." He nodded, cocking an eyebrow at her. "She ok?"

"She's gorgeous. You two made a beauty queen." Bri shrugged. "She's alright, I mean. I had to pull her out of school. So now she's in some independent study program until next year. She just misses hanging out with you. I told her she could call you or I'll walk her over here to bug you and Jacey but she has it in her head that she's going to annoy you and make the baby cry."

Happy shook his head. "Where's she at? I'll go kidnap now... That's ridiculous, the only reason I've said nothing is because I thought she was tired of being around here and found a new best friend... Shit, she's not going to cause any problems. I love that kid."

"She's at the house, sitting in the garden most likely. She hasn't found a new best friend, she's got herself an imaginary friend named Barnabus though." She shook her head. "She just doesn't believe me when I tell her that you won't be mad and Cam won't cry just because she shows up here."

Happy nodded. "I'll be back then, I'm going to kidnap my girl for a little bit... Don't ask me to return her either. Goes against a kidnapping. Tell Jacey she's got a new kid moving in." He grinned, standing up and closing his sketchpad before knocking on the table. "Come on, you can't be in here unsupervised. Mama won't allow it."

"Man, I was gonna be nosey." Bri smirked before standing up and following him out of the room. "Thanks for this Happy."

He looked back, confusion written on his face. "For what?"

"For being nice and stuff to Monica." She shrugged.

Hap waved her off. "She's my kid too... Even though she drives me insane with this little shit." He shook his head. "She doesn't ever bug me and Cam won't be upset if she gets to know Monica early."

"I wasn't aware that we were co-parenting." Bri crossed her arms and shook her head. "She's a self aware child… She probably gets this shit from me or something. I don't know but I hope Cam and Moni can be close."

He shrugged, smirking. "Might as well be... I mean, unless you don't want to then i'll back down." He nodded his head. "They will be, just gotta bond them together."

"I don't mind it." She smiled. "Oh, it'll be like Jacey and me but new and improved and with a slightly larger age gap!"

Happy nodded. "She will love Monica once they meet." He turned around and started moving away from her. "I'll prove it."

"Or she'll be jealous as soon as she hears you talking to Monica." The brunette laughed. "I'm excited for the interaction though, it'll be precious regardless."

"Do not jinx me, damn it... I'll be back." He walked off, disappearing into the front of the house.

"He's kidnapping my kid." Bri mumbled as soon as she walked to Elijah, resting her head against his shoulder. "Jacey, your boyfriend is kidnapping my child and apparently, we're coparenting Monica."

Jacey looked up at her best friend and laughed, stopping as she felt her daughter stir. "That doesn't surprise me one damn bit... He loves her." She shrugged. "Cam is not going to appreciate someone taking her daddy away from her when she wakes up though."

"Yeah, I know he does." She sighed and looked at Cam. "He has this plan to get them to bond early so they'll like each other but I think she may pitch a fit about Moni being around."

Jacey shrugged. "I don't know... she's pretty protective of her daddy..." The blonde smirked. "... And Moni is pretty protective of her best friend. You know it'll slightly crash into a wall..."

"They'll both be stubborn." Bri nodded. "Monkey will be excited to be over here though… It'll give her a break from being around all the suits for a little bit."

The blonde shrugged. "I can't even wait to see her, I've missed her so much." Jacey looked at Elijah and smiled. "What are you so silent about, Elijah? What are you over there thinking about?"

"I'm over here thinking about how you two both have no hope for the two girls getting along." Elijah shook his head. "It's how all of us _suits_ thought of you guys when you first became friends. Didn't think it'd work out in a million years but you two proved us wrong for the most part."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Have you ever even seen Happy when he's jealous? It's cute but then again it's not... That's how she is... All scrunched up face and moving her hands around." The blonde shrugged. "Why didn't you guys think we'd make it?"

"Haven't had the pleasure of encountering that." He shook his head and shrugged. "Because you two were both young, dumb and tended to be caught up with yourselves. So we felt it was a matter of time before the two of you had this big fall out where one just crossed the line and broke the other's heart."

The blonde smirked. "There is a first time for everything, Elijah, I promise." She looked at Bri and smiled. "True Love, I told you... We always find our way back. Duh." She laughed.

"True love conquers all." Elijah smiled at the pair. "It's a strange thing."

Bri nodded. "Jacey, tell Elijah that he needs to let me fix him up on a date… It's such a shame to see him waste his potential. He's husband material, he's handsome but he refuses to let me set him up on a date."

"Why won't you let her set you up? It could be fun!" Jacey moved, adjusting Camryn against her chest.

"I'm afraid of her choices for me." Elijah shook his head. "Plus, I doubt she'd be able to find a good woman for me who'd believe me when I told her I was an exterminator…"

Jacey shrugged, smiling. "What's a good woman for you?"

"I have no idea. I don't date… It's never been a thing I've saw a point to. If a woman wanted to have sex without having any type of commitment that was always good with me." He shrugged. "I guess with that being said, I'd want a woman who's the opposite of that."

The blonde nodded. "I think you need a date first... You're handsome as hell so that wouldn't be a problem but we must work on your conversation skills..." She smiled at the man before turning her attention on her daughter again.

"I'm excited to see you help him with that." Bri smiled. "It's going to be very entertaining to say the least."

Jacey shrugged. "I know, I know..." She smiled, looking at Elijah. "Are you up for this?"

"Yes, I'm up for it." Elijah smiled at the blonde. "It'll be a wonderful experience."

**SOA**

Happy moved through the massive house, his mind set on one thing and one thing only; kidnapping the tiny brunette that seemed to think he didn't care about her anymore. He shook his head, walking out of the house and into the backyard, instantly spotting the mass of curls that Monica always seemed to be sporting. "Monica!" He called out, watching her turn around slowly, her green eyes taking in his presence.

"Happy!" Monica ran to the man, wrapping her tiny arms around his legs as best she could. "What're you doing here?"

The man bent, lifting the little girl up and in his arms. "Came to get my favorite little girl!" He gave her a small smile.

"Me?" The brunette smiled. "I thought Camryn was your new favorite!"

Happy shook his head, shifting Monica to his hip. "That's my favorite sleeping buddy, she's a good cuddle buddy too but you're my favorite otherwise!"

"Really!?" Monica smiled at him. "I missed you! I had to hang out with Juice!"

Happy rolled his eyes. "Anytime you wanna see me or Jacey or even Camryn, then you just tell your mom and she'll call us!"

"But mom and Jacey are not talkin' to each other really! My grandpa said they're going through some shit." The six year old shrugged.

Happy chuckled. "Doesn't matter, kid... You can just tell him or Elijah if you wanna see us, they'll bring ya over. Just ask. You know that, Monica." He carried her through the house and out the front door. "Come on, we're going to see Jacey for a little bit and hang out with Camryn, sound good?" He held her to him tightly as he walked through his own gate and to the front door.

"I'll 'member that for next time." Monica smiled and nodded. "It sounds good to me."

Happy walked into the living room, easily spotting a very awake Camryn in Elijah's arm. "Where's Jacey and Bri?" Hap looked at Monica to see her looking at the beautiful baby girl. "Sit on the couch, kid, I'll let ya hold her."

"I can hold her?" Monica scrambled onto the sofa next to Elijah and smiled. "You hear that 'Lijah? I get to hold her! She's so pretty, she looks like one of my dolls but alive!"

Elijah chuckled. "They went to find Bri a snack." He looked over at Happy.

"Let me see her..." He held his hand out and accepted his daughter. "Don't drop Cam, alright Monica?" He looked at her before passing her the baby.

Monica smiled down at the baby girl before looking up at Happy. "She's really pretty! I like her eyes. Hi Camryn, I'm Monica!"

Happy sat down next to his girls and smiled. "See, she likes ya kid… She's not crying, she's just staring at you. Trying to figure out who you are."

"She's so pretty! I like her too." The six year old smiled. "'Lijah look! Me and Cam are bonding."

Elijah nodded. "You look cute, preparing for your little brother." He stood up from the sofa. "I have business to attend to. So, I'll let myself out." He pressed a kiss to Monica's forehead. "I'll see you later Monica. Happy, you got a gorgeous daughter."

"Thanks man." Happy watched the man leave the living room and turned his attention back to Monica and Camryn. "You guys are going to be the best of friends…You'll be like Bri and Jacey when they're getting along."

Monica nodded her head slowly. "Thick as thieves." She smiled at Happy before looking back at the wiggling baby. "My little partner in crime."

"Look at this." Bri smiled as she walked back into the living room with a big bag of chips. "You three are looking like a cute little family… Jacey, look at 'em."

Happy rolled his eyes. "Don't you have a boyfriend to annoy _priss_?"

The brunette shook her head. "He's out of town on a run… _Again_. Plus, he's not my boyfriend anymore, he's my fiance." She wiggled her ring finger. "He popped the question and I said yes. You're looking at the future Mrs. Hohrykova-Ortiz."

"Congratulations." He smirked at her. "You got yourself an idiot for life."

"Shush." Bri shook her head and pointed at her belly. "He's got ears, he can hear your negativity about his papa." She sat down on the sofa and pulled out her phone, taking a quick picture of Happy, Monica and Camryn. "What a precious photo… I may just cry."

Happy shook his head. "You start crying, you gotta leave my house… No crying allowed except for Camryn."

"Alright." She smiled. "I won't cry." She looked at Jacey as she sat down and rested her head against Happy's shoulder and smiled. "I think I'm going to head home… If Moni is staying, I'll have Frey drop over her overnight bag with some outfits…" She stood up and moved to Monica. "I love you monkey."

"I love you too mommy." Monica smiled up at her and gave her a kiss.

Bri nodded. "I'll see you guys later. I need to go nap." She gave Jacey a hug and Happy a wave. "Take care of my monkey! She's the only one I have!" She moved out of the living room and out the house, sending Juice a text message. She needed him home and she needed him home as soon as possible.

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**I know there wasn't any Juice in this chapter but I needed to work on the friendship between Bri/Jacey/Happy, plus you got a glimpse at a very important dynamic that formed. Next chapter will be all Bri/Juice fluff... I promise! Also thanks to my boo Bray for helping me with this lovely chapter.**


	36. Chapter 36 Names

**March 14, 2009**

"You look good." Juice shook his head and knocked Bri's hand away from her stomach. "Stop being so nervous babe… You're pregnant and deserve to show the belly off."

Bri nodded. "Last time I was here was for that party all those many months ago. Now I'm pregnant and engaged to you. Are you sure I have to come to the clubhouse with you Juice?"

He laughed and pulled her towards the clubhouse. "Yeah, I wanna show you off to my family babe. Let them know I'm doing good. That we're doing good. We're starting a family and I want them to be a part of that. Plus, you know most of the guys already. You've met Gemma, you need to meet her husband Clay… Jacey and Jax's stepdad and club president."

"Alright." She nodded as she linked her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked into the clubhouse. "You've told them I'm all pregnant right?"

Juice nodded. "Yeah, I did…" He smiled down at her before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "They know you're all big and round."

"Ay! I thought the boy was lyin'!" Chibs eyed the couple and smirked. "He knocked her up!"

"Nope, all pregnant and ready to pop in two months." Bri smiled at the man as she took a seat on the empty stool next to him. "How's it going?"

"Better now that we get to make fun of how big your belly is." Kozik smirked at her. "Brianna Banana is having a little baby… You caught the pregnancy bug from Jacey huh?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Nope, it's all just coincidental… Can I get a water." She looked at the brunette behind the bar and smiled.

Juice paused as he looked at the bartender. "Gigi." He whispered to himself, wondering what the girl was doing working the bar in the clubhouse and not at her usual place of business. "Bri, I'm going to go find Gemma, do you wanna come with?"

"No, I'm not walking more than I absolutely have to." Bri waved him off. "Go catch up with Gemma… I'll be right here keeping Chibs and Kozik entertained." She gave him a quick kiss before watching him swagger off. "He's my little sporadic man child."

Juice looked back, seeing Bri and Chibs laugh while Gigi continued to eye him. "Gemma…" He mumbled as he turned back and found his way into the office. "Where'd you hire the new bartender from?"

Gemma slipped her glasses off and looked at him. "Nice to see you too."

"Seriously Gemma." He sat down in the chair and rubbed his head.

"She came in, said you sent her here." She leaned back and shook her head. "You didn't send her in for a job did you?"

"No I didn't…" Juice groaned. "I used to see her, like pay her for services…"

Gemma shook her head again. "You sneaky little fucker… You brought that Russian tart here today right? You left the two of them in the same damn room. What makes you think that Gigi won't tell Bri what you and her were up to?"

"She didn't wanna walk Gem, she's seven months pregnant… She's a little uncomfortable walking for long distances at times… Even if it's from the bar to the office. She just likes to sit and be comfortable." He sighed. "I'm hoping that she won't say shit to Bri… You think I can pay her off?"

"You better think of something fast… She obviously wants something if she's creeping this far into your personal life Juicy." The older woman crossed her arms. "I suggest you go out there and play mediator in case she tries to tell your girlfriend about the services she was paid for by you."

Juice stood up and moved out of the office and back towards the main room of the clubhouse, his brown eyes landing on Gigi who was laughing and talking with Bri. "Babe… I wanna show you something." He grabbed Bri's hand and smiled as she went with him without asking a single question or protesting. "I just wanted to show you how much I loved you." He walked her into the hallway, his hands instantly going to her belly.

Bri shook her head. "I thought I was supposed to be bonding with your club family, not sneaking off to one of these back rooms to have sex with you… I wanna just chill and not fuck today baby. Every fucking thing on me is hurting. I think my milk is starting to come in or something because my tits are killing my back."

"I heard it's good if you rub them and all that." He bit his lip and stared at her. "Come on…"

"Are you serious right now?" She laughed. "We're not fifteen… We can't sit in a dark room and you can't just squeeze my tits."

He tugged her into a room and gently tugged the top of her dress down. "It'll make you feel better… I promise." He locked the door behind them before moving towards the bed and pulling her down between his legs so her back was resting against his chest. "Your tits are fucking huge babe."

Bri shook her head and relaxed into his embrace as he began to massage her breasts. "That feels really good… Fuck you for being right."

He laughed and shook his head. "I read it in one of those pregnancy books about milk production and nursing… Like if you don't nurse the first day, your tits can become rock hard and the baby won't be able to nurse… You also should nurse up to eight times a day to avoid engorged breasts and don't give the baby a bottle or a pacifier the first month because he may forget how to latch on to your nipple. Which reminds me, are you going to take these piercings out?"

"Well, I hadn't planned on taking them out because I've had them forever but you can take them out now… Just be gently because my nipples are sensitive." She sighed. "I can't believe you're fondling my tits, brings back memories of my barely there b cups… Now I'm a fucking triple D."

Juice laughed and gently pulled out the first barbell before moving onto the second one. "I'll pay for you to get them done again, if you're into that. I just read something online about a baby choking on a barbell."

"Stop reading shit online Juan Carlos… Jesus." The brunette shook her head. "Let's just focus on finishing up preparations. He'll be here in like two months."

"What else do we need? The nursery is set up." He shook his head.

She tilted her head back to look at him. "You need to stop going on runs… Next time you leave me to go on a run, I will return this damn ring to you and keep you out of his life… I don't care, work on it. You're the only one bending over backwards to go on runs. Happy is next door being a good dad to his kid and you can't even stay home long enough to take care of me anymore. It's fucking annoying. I get it, this is your job but you don't have to be away almost every fucking week… If you keep it up, you'll never be around."

He nodded. "I don't have anymore runs to go on… I've got time off and I plan to spend it all with you and our family. I just had to bust my ass on runs to afford that diamond you're wearing… I couldn't have given you something small. You deserved something big and flashy." He kissed her neck. "I'll be with you every step of the way now. I promise."

Bri smiled. "I love you babe."

"I love you too." Juice smiled, feeling the tension melt away from the brunette's shoulders. "I love our son too… Which reminds me, we need to go back to the drawing board for his name… I'm not feeling Roman anymore."

"We can keep brainstorming." She smiled. "We need something unique and interesting considering he's going to grow up thinking his dad's name is Juice."

"Let's throw some names out there." He tapped on her belly. "Casper."

"Rhys, Cooper, Cruz, Legend… Legend Ortiz." Bri laughed. "Umm, Nolan, Gregory, Steele, Steele Ortiz? No? Alright… Sean, Branden, Bentley, Bentley Ortiz… Reyes, Sereno, Ryder, Killian, Kieran, Aleksandr, Axl, Aleric, Victor, Kellan, Cody, Christian, Colton, Mason, Vincent, Gunnar… Sebastian! Adam, Robert, Theo, Thomas, Michael, Slade, Rudy."

"I swear, I've heard most of those names somewhere before…" He laughed. "I don't even know if I know that many names! I'll have to consult the internet for a name."

She nodded. "A few of them are familiar sounding… We'll get his name picked and permanent by the time he's born. They don't even fill out the birth certificate until like you're leaving, I think… So we'll have time to pick the perfect one. Maybe it'll come to us when we're holding him or something."

**SOA**

"Blah!" Bri rolled her eyes as she climbed into bed and saw that Juice had brought his laptop in bed with him. "I swear, that laptop is your wife and I'm your pregnant mistress…" She covered the screen with a pillow and watched him cast her a dirty look. "What's so important that you brought that thing into bed with you?"

Juice shrugged. "I'm building my stock portfolio… Investing and all that good shit." He wrapped an arm around her. "Don't be jealous, I can please my wife and take care of my pregnant mistress at the same time."

"Not jealous… I'm prettier." The brunette rolled her eyes. "You trying to be a wall street suit baby?"

"No, just trying to get a savings account for the kid… I can't leave him with nothing. I wanna at least pay for some of his college education if he decides to go." He tapped on the screen and smiled. "I already have a few thousand saved for him."

"Well aren't you just being a good papa." She kissed his cheek. "You keep geeking out, I'm about to watch this movie Lucius let me borrow."

Juice closed his laptop and studied Bri's profile before licking the side of her face. "When did he give that to you?"

"He dropped it off when you were taking that unnecessary bubble bath." Bri looked at him before licking him back. "You know I don't like it when you lick me… Unless you're licking the cookie but since you aren't, keep your tongue to yourself… I see your eyes getting dark, don't be so jealous baby."

"It was relaxing." He shrugged. "I'll lick you wherever I want to lick you… You're about to be my wife." He pulled her into his lap and nuzzled his face in her hair. "You smell like baby lotion and baby shampoo already Bri… I thought I told you to stay out of the baby stuff."

"You did… I had Ingrid buy me my own selection of baby products… They just smell so good and feel how soft my skin is! It's perfect… Don't you dare judge me." She laughed as the movie started playing. "This movie is supposed to have a lot of violence, sex, romance and subtitles."

"You and the kid are gonna smell the same." Juice braided her hair and smiled at his work. "I still got it! I remember watching you braid your hair to the side every damn time you got stressed out… Now you just roll out of bed and go unless you have work."

"Bed head is my thing… Like why even bother doing it… You know I like it a certain way. The braid will be my go to." Bri nodded and touched her hair. "You did a great job babe."

"Well, thank you." He tugged on the braid before wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "You think the kid will be the type to wanna sleep in bed with us all the time?"

"If we always keep him in here with us he will be." She smiled. "Don't go getting any ideas though… I'm fine with like a bassinet in here occasionally but he's so not being our roommate babe."

"I wasn't even thinking about moving him in…" He pressed on her stomach and smiled when he felt the movements of his son. "I still can't believe I'm going to be a dad… We're having a son. You and me! It's mindblowing. An outlaw and surgeon are reproducing."

Bri chortled and nodded. "It's an amazing world… What a time to be alive, huh? I'm going to sleep, you can continue to do that cute stock portfolio thing you were doing with your wife. Me and the kid are going to be getting some sleep. Well, I'll be sleeping and he'll probably be kicking and punching like usual."

**March 16, 2009 **

"What're we at the baby store for?" Bri asked her boyfriend as they parked. "I thought we had everything.. That's what you told me." She opened the door and climbed out of the SUV before pulling her shirt down and over her belly for the hundredth time. "I swear this maternity shirt lied when it said it was an XL." She shook her head and moved to the back of the SUV, grabbing Juice's hand before he started to walk them towards the store.

"We're here to get a bassinet." Juice grinned at her as he watched her move into the store ahead of him. "The other night had me thinking, I think I'd want him sleeping in the room with us on occasion. Not sharing our bed but just being in there. Especially on nights where we're both worn out and it'll be easier to grab him because he's by the bed."

"Valid point. I can't even argue with you there." The brunette watched him grab a cart. "We went a bit overboard, we're going to be screwed if we end up with a babyshower or some shit… We won't need a damn thing from anyone."

He shrugged and looked up at the signs before directing the cart towards the right aisle. "Doesn't matter… You didn't want a baby shower anyway." He halted and moved her in front of him before wrapping his arms around her the best he could as they started to push the cart. "You think they have black bassinets? Or do they only make white ones?"

"They come in different colors babe… Normal people buy white because it's calming or some shit but I'm sure you can find a black one to match the bedroom." Bri stopped, grabbing at a toy. "Look baby, it's a cute stuffed motorcycle."

"Yeah, we gotta get that." Juice nodded excitedly and smiled. "Okay but no more, we're just here for a black bassinet. We won't be walking out of here with a hundred more things he may not even need."

She shrugged. "There is your black bassinet… I think we should go to the clothes aisle. You can never have too many onesies or those cute little baby shorts. Babe! He needs the cute little shorts and baby jeans. I'm serious."

"We can go down that aisle." He smirked as he dropped the box into the cart. "Okay, let's go buy 98 more things that he doesn't need… I love seeing you excited about baby clothes. It's cute as hell Brianna."

Bri winked at him before tossing in some onesies. "I just want him to have options… Like what if he's one of those huge newborns that can't fit the newborn onesies? Like what if I have like a ten pound baby, he's automatically already gonna be in the next size up."

"_If_ you have a ten pounder… I'll have to give you props and buy you a bigger ring." Juice kissed the side her neck before biting it softly. "I don't think he'll be that big though, I think he'll be eight pounds, max."

"Well, my pussy is just going to be sore for ten years!" She laughed and covered her face as she drew the attention of other shoppers. "He better not have broad ass shoulders either… I heard being torn open is rather unpleasant and you can barely walk afterwards… It'll be like if you decided to do anal but skipped out on the lube."

"Who would even do that without lube?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Have you tried it without lube?"

"Nope." Bri shook her head and covered her butt with her hands. "This is not a place you can just force your way into… You need an invitation and have to be properly dressed."

"Invite only?" Juice smacked her ass and laughed. "Bullshit… I don't remember being invited."

"You're my boyfriend, you have an open invitation." The brunette smirked. "As long as you're wearing the proper wetsuit."

"Yo, I have a half chub right now." He let out a goofy laugh as he adjusted the front of his pants. "This hasn't happened since like high school… Remember I popped a boner in the middle of an assembly?"

"I remember that I gave you a hand job and your splooge hit the girl sitting in front of us in the back of the head because I the shirt fell off your lap." Bri squealed. "And she touched it remember! You were like 'sorry, my girl's lotion squirted everywhere!'."

Juice doubled over in laughter, holding his sides. "She rubbed it on her hands! We couldn't keep our shit together so we got kicked out of the assembly by security."

"We were bad." The brunette shook her head and moved to her fiance. "I'm glad we're doing this all together. Couldn't imagine having a kid with anyone else besides you… You know what I mean? Besides Monica…"

He nodded and hugged her. "I get what you mean… Now, let's finish up this shopping trip and head home. I want to nap." He kissed her pouty lips and smirked. "We so need to stop coming to baby stores though." He crossed his arms and continued to watch her move through the aisle, looking at the baby clothes. He smiled to himself before pulling out his vibrating phone, Gigi was calling him _again._ He groaned, knowing he had to handle the problem soon.


	37. Chapter 37 Killer

**as always thanks to those who take the time out to review. to the others who read and don't leave a review, I hope you're enjoying it. there is a little bit of violence in this but not much. I kept it short and sweet to set up for the time jump in the next chapter. **

* * *

**March 25, 2009 **

"You want me to help you with what?" Nik looked at Juice from her spot in her bed. "Why don't you just go handle it yourself? It's what you do for a living."

Juice shook his head. "I don't kill women for a living… I want to avoid killing a woman." He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "All I'm gonna need is for you to show up and get crazy with her. Like hit her or some shit."

"Oh! Is that all? What about me makes you think I can even throw a punch?" She sat up and looked at the young man. "Juice, I'm not muscle and I'm not sure I even want to help you. You've been paying some bitch to listen to you talk when you could have been talking to my sister! The mother of your unborn child! Your soon to be wife! You remember her right?"

"Come on Nik… Just help me. I'll never ask for another favor. Ever again." He clasped his hands together and looked at her. "Please, just help me get rid of Gigi before she does something stupid. I know I fucked up, I just don't wanna have this come out."

The blonde groaned and kicked her blankets off. "Fine, take me to this Gigi… I'll grab the knife and my gun."

Juice paused. "I thought you weren't a fighter?"

Nik scoffed. "I said I couldn't throw a punch. I never said anything about not being a fighter. Plus, I'm grabbing a gun and a knife… If I'm going to scare a bitch, it's going to be with my two favorite things my family sells. She's going to be treated like she's a man, she wants to try to fuck up my sister's family? I don't fucking think so. Grab tarps, rope and a shovel. We're going to need all of that if shit goes wrong."

"Seriously?" He looked at her as she pulled on a black hoody. "Okay, I guess you're being very serious about this. I'll meet you outside."

**SOA**

"I'm so excited." Nik slipped her knife into her boot and looked at Juice. "I've got this huge ass adrenaline rush and we're just sitting in a moldy ass motel room. I would fuck with you too if you met me in this place."

Juice shook his head and looked at the clock, knowing Gigi would be arriving any minute. "You're just going to scare her… I don't think you need to kill her Nik. It seems a little too permanent."

"I didn't flash my tits to the night guard in the motel office for that security tape for nothing Juice." The blonde looked at him and smirked. "We're going to have some fucking fun. I won't kill her unless I absolutely have to."

He groaned and looked at her. "You're so sadistic… I can't even deal with you right now." He jumped at the knock on the door.

"A little jumpy." Nik chuckled and moved into the small bathroom. "Go, let her ass in."

"Hey." Juice smiled as he opened the door for Gigi. "I'm glad you could make it. Such late notice and a new spot."

Gigi shrugged. "I'm just glad you finally texted me back… I thought you were going to keep ignoring me for your pregnant girlfriend. She looks even prettier pregnant, she was so nice to me too. Tipped me for giving her water, it was a free drink."

He smirked. "I got a special surprise." He sat her on the bed before moving towards the bathroom and grabbing Nik. "Gigi, this is Nik."

"Hi." Nik smiled shyly at Gigi.

Gigi shook her head. "I thought you were a faithful guy but look at you, cheating on the pregnant girlfriend with this perky little blonde."

Nik shrugged. "I'm the pregnant girlfriend's little sister." She moved in front of Juice and eyed Gigi. "We're here for a little party… You're going to listen to me, I need you to stay away from Juice and I really need you to stop trying to insert yourself into his personal life. You're supposed to know better than that. You're an escort, you know not to show up in a man's personal life. He pays you for more than just a few hours of conversation."

The brunette scoffed and pushed at the blonde. "You brought her here to try to scare me?" She looked at Juice. "Unbelievable. You brought me into your personal life when you started spilling your guts to me. I love you Juice, I'm not going to sit around and allow you to throw your life away on some bitch you can't even bring yourself to talk to."

"_Love?_" Nik scoffed before tugging Juice back towards the bathroom and locking the door behind them. "Juice, you're so fucking stupid, you couldn't have gotten a fucking sane escort to spill your guts to? This is bad."

Juice shrugged. "I guess I have that effect on women."

The blonde smacked his arm and shook her head as she walked back out of the bathroom. "Alright, Gigi, you have two options, you disappear on your own, you die by a bullet, or you die by my knife." Nik pulled the knife from her boot and held it up. "Sharpened it just for the occasion."

Gigi shook her head. "You're threatening me? Nice try… I don't scare that easily. You think he's the first bad guy I've gotten mixed up with? Sweetheart think again… I'm not scared of you or of him. I'm leaving." She stood up, only to be pushed back down by Nik. "Let go of me! I will tell his girlfriend! You won't kill me!"

Nik rolled her eyes and moved her knife across Gigi's throat and let the brunette slump to the floor. "She would not stop talking." She wiped her knife on Gigi's shirt before slipping it back into her boot. "See, I told you putting the tarp on the floor would come in handy."

Juice looked at Gigi then up at Nik. "I can't believe you just did that! That wasn't the fucking plan Nik!"

"Oh my God! Who the fuck even cares? She had to go! She wasn't going to run off afraid. She would have fucking made your life miserable. She would have made it her fucking mission to tell _my_ sister that you were cheating!" She shoved Juice back. "Now, unless you want to be in a grave next to this bitch, help me get her out of here and shut the fuck up."

"I knew I should have asked Happy." He grabbed Gigi's purse and rifled through it, pocketing anything that had to do with him. "You're such a cold blooded killer. She didn't even do shit…"

Nik rolled her eyes and looked at Juice. "I just got rid of a problem that would have cost you not only Bri but your child as well. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you or why you even did this shit but if she were to find out, she would have packed up and moved. You want that shit to happen? If you cared so much about this little fucking slut, then you wouldn't have even let me bring a knife to a meeting that was supposed to scare her. Unlike you, I will eliminate anyone and everyone who threatens to shatter what makes my sister the happiest. You're so fucking lucky that I want her to stay happy otherwise I would go straight to her with this shit." She bent over and rolled the lifeless brunette up. "I don't care if you don't help me with this shit. I did what I needed to do for my family which is more than I can say for your sorry ass."

**April 3, 2009**

"Alright kid." Bri touched her belly and smiled. "You've only got a few weeks left in there. I'm ready for you to get here my dear. You have a big sister, her name is Monica. I call her monkey though because she clings to people like a little spider monkey. Your dad, he's pretty cool, he's going through some things right now. He doesn't think I see it but I see everything. Keep that in mind when you try sneaky shit when you're a teenager. Your aunts, Nik, Svet, and Jacey are going to love you to death. They're really going to spoil you and that's awesome, don't get Nik and Jacey confused, they're both feisty blondes. Svet is a brunette like me. She's wild though." She paused and looked at her reflection in the mirror before smiling again.

"You always make it a habit to talk to him?" Nik sat down on the floor in front of the mirror and looked up at her sister. "You better be telling him about how gorgeous his Nik Nik is and how much she's going to kidnap him and show him off like he's my own child."

"Yup. I've actually been writing him letters and shit. Ever since I found out that I was pregnant." The brunette lowered herself to the floor and smiled. "It's cute… It makes me feel like he'll know me even better when he's old enough to read the letters."

"He's going to read those letters and realize how hormonal you were while you were pregnant with him." Nik ran her hands over the fluffy white carpet and looked at her sister before touching her belly. "It sucks that I won't ever know what it's like to be pregnant and have a child."

Bri nodded and furrowed her brow. "I forget you went through that whole ordeal… I'm sorry about it babe."

The younger woman shrugged and laid on her back, touching the scars on her lower stomach. "It's alright. I mean, who would have ever thought about anything like that happening? I have no functioning lady parts. I'm basically like a woman who's gone through menopause and her ovaries shriveled up."

"If it'll make you happy. If I have another daughter, I'll name her after you… If you ever want a child, I'll have one for you." The brunette smiled down at her sister. "I want you to know, that I got you babe."

Nik smiled and nodded. "I know you do. You better have a kid for me, I want a boy. In like a few more years. I'll be coming to claim what is mine." She sat up and hugged the pregnant woman. "I think I'm going to look into adoption when I'm ready for children. So many children in Russia looking for a home. I think I'll adopt three or four."

"There are American children who need to be adopted. Just get a couple of those and call it a day." Bri kissed her sister's cheek. "You'd make a good mom when you get out of your wild child stage."

"Ew! An American child?" Nik scoffed. "Don't insult me like that. I want a little girl with a cute Russian accent like Monica's. Her accent slays me everytime she talks."

"She does have the most amazing accent for a six year old who hasn't been in Russia for like a year." Bri laughed. "She's my heart… Are you aware that Happy and I co parent her? She's like his daughter basically."

"I can see that. He's fucking amazing with her. They got a weird bond that you don't see too often. I mean the only similar dynamic is you and Aleksandr. He is your father more than our own father is. That's how it is with Happy and Moni. He's her Aleksandr." Nik smirked.

"I know! It's beautiful and weird all at the same time because of the shaky start we had but I couldn't even imagine them not being close. It killed me when she thought that Happy didn't want her around because of Camryn. I'm glad he settled that whole deal with her. I'm glad she has him. He's good for her." The brunette trailed her fingers through her hair and smiled. "Be nice and try to get your nephew out of me early. I'm so uncomfortable."

Nik shook her head and rubbed Bri's belly and smiled. "He needs to cook at least two weeks more then I'll talk him out of there. You don't want him here a whole month early. It'll be bad if that happens."

Bri nodded and laid on the floor, bending her legs at the knees as she moved her hands over her belly and sighed. "I'm just so eager to get him out. I'm so uncomfortable and can barely even more anymore. This is horrible. I just want my son!" She shook her head and yawned. "Nap with me." She grabbed her younger sister's hand. "I want you to stay with me and nap Nik, please?" She watched her sister lay down next to her and smile. "Thank you."


	38. Chapter 38 Dads

**May 13, 2009 **

Bri moved around the kitchen, her hands pressing against her lower back as she attempted to find something she actually wanted to eat but wasn't too much trouble to make. She groaned as she felt a pain in her lower half and braced herself against the wall as she let it ride out. She shook her head as soon as it passed, realizing her contractions were really starting, any minute and she would be in full fledged labor. "JUICE!" She squealed as another contraction started. "JUAN CARLOS!"

"Yeah?" Juice rushed into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks at the sight of his fiancee doubled over and gripping her belly. "Oh shit! Did your water break yet?" He moved to her side and rubbed her lower back as he helped her shuffle into the living room and onto the sofa. "I'll grab the bag and call the doctor." He smiled as he kissed her. "We're having a baby!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." She shook her head and laid on her side on the sofa. "Oh, fuck. Why is this hurting so damn much." She groaned and pushed herself back up, pulling her phone out of her bra and sending Jacey a text before she informed her Nik, Svet and Aleksandr of what was going on. "Babe!" She yelled as she stood up and felt her water break. "We need to go NOW!"

He rushed back into the room, the overnight bag draped messily over his body as he looked at the puddle of water at the brunette's feet. "Holy shit! That means you're really in labor." He moved to her and grabbed her hand softly. "I'll get you there, you'll get your pain medication and we'll have our handsome little baby boy. I got you babe." He rubbed her lower back as they slowly walked outside and thankfully saw that her car was parked closer to the front door. "We're having a son!"

Bri couldn't help but laugh at Juice's excitement. "Babe! Moni, she's in her room napping… Grab her, please! We can't leave her home alone." She looked at him as he helped her into the car before sprinting back into the house, walking out a few short moments later, Monica in his arms as he placed her in her booster seat. "Fuck, we need the car seat, it's in the other car."

Juice got into the car. "I'll ask Aleksandr or Frey to bring it to the hospital when we're getting ready to come back home. It can wait, now we need to get you to the hospital and have our son. I'm so excited."

**SOA**

Juice next to Bri, his hands rubbing her lower back as another power contraction ripped through her. He furrowed his brow, hearing her cry from the pain was starting to become a little too much for him to handle but he was determined to stick with her every moment of her being in labor like he has promised as he pulled up to the front of the hospital. "You're doing great. Just a little longer before you can get the pain medication baby."

"It hurts so bad." She cried as she felt another contraction begin. "I don't know how much longer I can do this babe… It's too much for my body."

"I'll get a nurse… See if they can check you and give you medicine." He pressed the nurse call button and waited. "We'll get you through this, I can't even imagine all the pain you're going through right now."

She nodded and looked back at him. "I want you to let me get cut if it needs to happen Juice… If I can't have him naturally."

Juice nodded. "Hopefully it won't come to that though…"

**SOA**

"Eight pounds, six ounces, 21 inches long." The nurse smiled at Juice and Bri. "Congratulations mom and dad, you had a very healthy little boy." She passed the bundled up child to Juice. "I'll let you two have a moment alone with him."

"God, he's so perfect." Juice smiled at his son, his index finger running over the bridge of the baby's perfect sized nose. "He doesn't have my big ass nose." He sat down on the bed, giving Bri a view of her son. "You did good baby… Look at him, he came out of you."

Bri nodded. "I'll never forget the pain and fourteen hours of labor." She looked at her son and smiled as she felt her eyes tear up again. "I don't know how he's so chubby when I made sure I gained the minimum weight… Look at you, my little chubby baby." She smiled at the baby boy as the door opened and Nik, Svet, and Jacey all walked into the room.

"Holy shit." Nik looked at her nephew and smirked. "You pushed that out of your pussy? Man, props to you and your body."

"Babe!" Jacey smiled and pressed a kiss to Bri's forehead. "Look at you, glowing like a mom. He's so cute, look at that face."

Svet nodded and smiled at the new parents. "The baby, he's perfect. What'd you guys decide on naming him?"

Bri and Juice looked at each other and smiled. "His name is Javier Aleksandr Ortiz."

"Baby Javi." Nik smiled at the baby. "Grandpa Aleksandr is going to eat up the fact that your middle name is his first name… He's going to make sure everyone knows it too!"

"It only took us forever to pick out a name we both loved." Juice shrugged. "Seems perfect for him. He doesn't look like a Nolan or a Roman. He looks like a Javier."

"I'm just excited because I get to call Jacey, Javier, and Juice the J squad. Big J, Little J and Littlest J." Bri smirked. "I'm just waiting for the guys to see him and see what dumb nickname he ends up getting from them."

Jacey shook her head as she took her nephew and looked at him. "I'm so not letting them call you Littlest J… He's so damn big! Cam is going to look at him like he's the funniest thing in the damn world."

"Cam better not make fun of my son in baby babble." The brunette shook her head and smiled. "I'm just so glad that he's here, healthy, and as big as a giant… I would have been upset to have had a little wimpy six pound baby boy."

"She won't." Jacey smirked as she sat down on the bed and passed the child back. "You did good babe… I'm happy for the two of you."

Bri smiled. "Thanks love. I'm glad you were here for this, even if it took him forever to make his first appearance. He's already making us wait… I think that's my trait kicking in." She handed the baby to Juice and watched him quickly leave the room. "Eager to show off his handy work."

"I'm going to go grab some coffee." Svetlana smiled at Bri. "Congratulations my love… It still sucks that we didn't have a baby shower for you."

The brunette shrugged. "Thank you and the shower wasn't necessary… Grab me a bottle of water please. I'm so over the hospital water. It tastes funny."

"My girl." Aleksandr stalked into the room. "You did wonderful. I just saw the little guy." He set the flowers and balloons on the table.

Elijah nodded as he sat on the other side of the brunette. "He's not as funny looking as I thought he'd be."

"Well thanks E." Bri pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled. "I'm glad he's not funny looking at all. I just hope he doesn't start off handsome and become ugly."

"Bri!" Jacey smacked her best friend's leg. "He's precious, don't jinx him."

"I'm not!" The brunette chuckled. "I'd love him even if he was ugly."

**May 16, 2009 **

"You should be asleep." Nik sat down across from juice and lifted her legs onto the table and sighed. "I checked in on them, they were all knocked out but you were missing. Assumed you'd be at the clubhouse, not in the backyard drinking."

Juice shrugged looking at the blonde carefully. "I'm just out here thinking, clearing my mind. I wasn't sleepy."

She nodded. "Still feeling bad about the whole Gigi thing? You shouldn't. It's not like you did anything wrong in that situation. You just happened to be there when it all went sideways."

He eyed her before shaking his head. "I feel bad that I dragged you into my shit…"

"Don't be. It's not like you put the knife in my hand… You didn't force me to do a damn thing." Nik pulled the knife from her boot and dropped it on the table between them. "It's my burden to bare, not that I feel bad about what I did or anything."

Juice nodded, leaning forward to grab the knife from the table and examine the blade closely. "Where'd you get this? I've never seen anything of the sort."

"It's custom, handmade." She shrugged. "I don't want you to feel bad about this situation Juice… I did what I had to do to keep my sister from getting hurt. You didn't expect me to actually hurt her, so you can't feel guilty or bad about it. I don't want you to feel bad about it."

"I turned you into a killer." He frowned as he passed the knife back.

Nik scoffed. "I think you're giving yourself a little too much credit… What is it that you think I do for a living or disappear to for days and weeks? It's not the first time Juice."

Juice looked at her and nodded. "I thought you were a stripper."

She laughed. "I _was_ a stripper… I couldn't strip forever. I like the whole being a killer thing. It's never boring. It's like hunting prey. You study their habits and when they're not paying attention, you take the shot."

"Nice that you equivocate murder to hunting." He smirked. "Well, I won't feel bad if it's not weighing on your heart."

Nik nodded. "It's not. For a moment, I thought I was going to have to hurt you for feeling something for that Gigi slut."

Juice shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Never. I was just thinking it would wear on you."

She stood up and shrugged. "_Never_ worry about me. I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl Juice."

"Someone has to worry about you." He shrugged and watched her move towards the house before following her inside. "I'm about to be your brother-in-law."

Nik rolled her eyes. "Go be a dad or some shit… I don't like being sappy with you _Juan Carlos_." She moved up the stairs and disappeared into her room.

Juice shook his head and walked into the nursery, looking at his sleeping son. "I can't believe I had part in creating something so perfect." He whispered as he ran a hand over the child's full head of hair and smiled.

"You should totally be asleep right now." Bri's voice came over the baby monitor. "Yeah, I can hear you babe."

He smirked and slinked out of the nursery and into his bedroom, crawling into bed with the brunette and pulling her close to him. "I wasn't sleepy. I was sitting outside, had a small talk with Nik about her knife that she carries around."

"The one that she keeps in her boot? She made that herself." She shrugged. "Are you sleepy now babe?"

"Not one bit. Are you sleepy? Did I wake you up?" He looked down at her and frowned.

"Nah. I'm tired but I'm not sleepy. I was awake for like twenty minutes, was trying to get comfortable. It's weird going back to being able to sleep on my stomach but it feels unnatural now." She shook her head and ran her fingers down his lower arms. "You should be going to sleep though babe… You haven't slept since we got home yesterday morning."

"I'm fine." Juice kissed the side of her neck and yawned. "See, I'm getting sleepy already, it's all your fault. I don't know how you do that shit!"

She laughed. "I haven't done anything but talk to you… I think you should sleep."

"I'll go to sleep." He nodded and snuggled up to her. "I love you Bri."

"I love you too Juice." Bri smiled and turned on to her back without breaking the embrace. "I hope you sleep the day away."

**SOA**

"Hey my love." Bri picked up her wide awake son and smiled at him. "You just don't wanna be alone for too long huh?" She moved out of the nursery and slowly down the stairs. "We'll get me food and you can drink some milk… I hear it's good but I've personally never tasted it." She rolled her eyes as the doorbell sounded. "Wonder who's bugging us today, shall we see?" She walked to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open slowly, her eyes landing on the man standing before her before smirking. "Long time, no see."

"Very long time no see." He eyed the baby Bri was cradling. "You had a kid? Last time I saw you, you were just hanging out and then I heard you were inviting my sister to stay for dinner."

"Esai." The brunette shook her head. "This is my son Javier… So far he's only got one nickname and it's Javi."

Esai smirked. "Wow, so you and Juice… Wow."

"Don't look too shocked… I'm thinking you have the wrong house… Jacey lives next door." Bri walked into the kitchen. "She is in the house to the right of me, with her little family… You want anything to drink?"

He sat at the table and shook his head. "No, I came to see you actually. Hoping you can help me with a little problem I'm having. Friend to friend. I'll take a beer if you have one."

She nodded and pulled open the fridge, grabbing herself a apple juice and Esai a beer. "Here." She passed it to him and sat down across from him. "Isn't it a conflict of interest if you're talking to a Son's old lady for help?"

"Nah. I'm asking for an old friend's help." Esai sipped his beer and smiled at the baby boy. "He's tan as hell…"

"I know! Isn't he absolutely perfect? I always said I wanted a tan child!" Bri looked down at her son and smirked. "I'll help you, just let me know when you need my help… I hate knowing shit beforehand, unless you need me right now."

He shook his head. "I will let you know… Mind if I hang out around here for a little while?"

"Stay as long as you need to… I think Nik and Svet are running around out back if you want to partake in that nonsense… I have to feed him so I'll be back. Alright?" She smiled at him as she moved from the table and towards the living room, her grey eyes on her son. "That's Aunt Jacey's ex boyfriend Esai, at one point in time they were madly in love and very much unbreakable. He's a cool guy, I always thought of him as my older brother but you know, shit happens and things change. We're still friends though, it's just not the best of friendships but I'll help him because he's good people at the end of the day."

"You always talk to him?" Frey walked into the living room and sat down across from Bri. "I've seen it all before." He shrugged.

"I've been talking to him since I found out about it. I find that it's fun to tell him things, even if he doesn't really understand yet. He'll at least know the sound of my voice and if I ever just want to try to talk to him over the monitor, he'll be like, that's my mom's voice." Bri smiled. "I haven't seen you in a few days, you good Frey?"

"I'm good." He nodded. "I've been seeing someone…"

"Ahh shit… When do I get to meet her?" The brunette smirked. "Tell me she's not American."

Frey chuckled. "Nope, she's a proper English woman."

"Oh look at that. That's practically American." Bri chuckled. "I'm happy for you Frey. I'm glad you got a good, _girlfriend?_"

He nodded and smiled. "I've got an amazing girlfriend… I'll bring her by one day." He stood up and moved towards the pair, pressing a kiss to Bri's forehead before rubbing the baby's head. "Little Ortiz."

"Well that's a new one." She shook her head. "Little Ortiz… It could stick but you'd hate it when you got bigger, huh? Eventually you'll get a nickname that sticks. My nickname from when I was your age is Kitty, my grandpa Big Viktor gave it to me… He is no longer with us but that doesn't matter. Then I got the nickname Doll face from your dad in high school during our freshmen and sophomore years, Kitty Kat from your Aunt Svet, my best friend Giselle, she called me Breezy Bri, she's not with us anymore either but she's watching out for us. You have a lot of people watching out for you. You'll never be alone in your life."

"Javi baby." Monica climbed up on the sofa and looked at her brother and mom. "He's drinking milk again?"

Bri nodded. "Babies drink a lot, it helps them grow big and strong."

"Oh! What if I want him to stay small for life? Baby Javi is cute and chunky!" The tiny brunette giggled and touched her brother's forehead. "How come he has so much hair but Juice has none!?"

"He has to grow up so you can play with him." She smiled. "Because I have a lot of hair! See! He got all his hair from me just like you did!"

Monica nodded and touched her hair. "He looks like Juice! I look like you. What did my daddy look like?"

Bri froze for a moment before standing up. "I think I have a picture of him… You know, he has your green eyes." She grabbed her daughter's hand and started towards the stairs. "He was handsome for his age, he was just a mean person. You know how Happy looks mean but he's nice? Your dad looked nice but he was real mean."

The six year old nodded and hopped up the stairs and followed her mom into her office before closing the door behind them. "What was his name?"

"Maximilian Mikhailov." She grabbed a box off of her bookshelf and set it on the coffee table. "Funny name huh? Everyone called him Mad Max." She opened the box and pulled out a stack of pictures and passed them to Monica. "You can take whatever pictures you want. They're mostly of the wedding but some candids as well."

Monica started spreading out the pictures and smiled at the pictures of a younger Bri. "Look! You look pretty!"

Bri nodded as she looked down at the pictures. "Yeah, I was so pretty then! That was before I even met Jacey!"

"This is him?" She held up a picture of Maximilian and smiled. "He does have the same eyes as me! That's so cool! I wanna keep this picture, can I?"

"Yeah monkey, take all the pictures you want." The brunette smiled. "Are you okay in here? I have to burp and change your brother. He's finished with his lunch." She stood up and walked towards the door, smiling at Monica before walking out. "Your sister is happy, that's a good thing. It's pretty damn cute when she smiles. I'm glad I kept those pictures. Now let's get you burped and maybe down for a nap? Yeah? Alright then." She smiled again, hoping that telling Monica about her father wouldn't backfire.

* * *

**Let me know what you thought!  
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**AN: Thank you for the reviews loves... We're closing in on the final dozen or so chapters of this story. So hopefully I'll be able to crank them out and have this story wrapped up by the end of the month.**


	39. Chapter 39 Therapist

**May 27, 2009 **

Bri smiled down at her two week old son Javier. He was looking up at her from his spot on her legs as she tried to get his mitts on his hands. "You gotta let me put these on your hands papa, you're scratching up that handsome face of yours." She got one on and started on the other and smiled triumphantly when they both stayed on. "I knew you'd cooperate eventually." She kissed his forehead. "Your daddy should be getting home from the grocery store any minute now… I hope he remembered to grab my candy I wanted."

"Here, here." Juice passed Bri a bag of sour candy. "I forgot what you said but I remembered you said sour so I just got every possible type and brand that I could find in the store." He kissed her before kissing his son's head.

She smiled and set the bag down next to her. "He's all fed and changed if you wanna hold him and talk to him for a little while babe." She gestured to their child. "Make sure you don't give him a pacifier just yet… The doctor said it could fuck up the breastfeeding, because it's different ways to suck a pacifier and a nipple… We talked about this before." She watched him pick up Javier and cradle him in one arm before she relaxed onto the sofa and started going through the large bag of candy.

He nodded his head slowly. "No binkies for you." He admired his son's jet black hair and bright gray eyes. "He's so tan… He's my color already, I didn't expect that."

"I know! He's so damn perfect." Bri tore open the package of skittles and sighed. "You think you can watch him while I take a shower? I'm covered in his spit up from when I burped him… leaked down the back of my shirt."

Juice looked up and nodded. "Yeah, go take a shower. Me and this little guy are just going to sit right here and watch some cartoons or something." He watched her move out of the living room before grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. "You haven't been giving your mom too much hell right? You seem to be a pretty chill baby these two weeks. Man, I'm glad that you're here." He propped his feet up on the coffee table as the doorbell rang. He rolled his eyes and stood up, briskly walking to the door and pulling it open. "Oh, it's you."

Jacey rolled her eyes and pushed the stroller into the house. "Where's the love of my life?" She eyed Javier in Juice's arms and smiled. "I came over to introduce Cam to her best friend."

"Bri just went up for a shower." He shrugged and watched Jacey take Camryn out of the stroller. "We were hanging out in the living room watching cartoons… You know the deal, make yourselves at home and I'll grab snacks if you want anything."

"We're good." The blonde walked into the living room. "How's being a dad treating you so far Juicy?"

"It's good, I'm loving this little guy… He's a pretty chill baby. I think he gets that from me." Juice smiled down at his son before looking up at Jacey. "Motherhood seems to agree with you… I also heard that Camryn is supposed to be Javier's girlfriend but I'm not so sure about it. He's a little too young for something like that." He chuckled.

"Jacey!" Nik slid into the living room and toppled over before standing back up. "I knew I heard your voice! What's up?"

"Just came over to introduce the babies." Jacey smiled at the bikini clad blonde and noticed her midsection was wrapped in plastic. "New ink?"

"Yes! I'm excited to take the plastic off soon and reveal it. Now, gimme the princess." She opened and closed her hands before accepting Camryn into her arms. "I can't get over how much she looks like a freaking doll." She sat down on the sofa and ran her finger over the girl's nose. "You almost make me want to go out and buy me one of those realistic baby dolls that costs an arm and leg."

"Someone caught baby fever." The blonde chuckled. "You're gonna be next huh?"

Nik shook her head. "I can't have kids." She shrugged. "I'll adopt eventually…" She looked towards the stairs and saw Bri coming down them slowly. "You better not try to go to Bri, Cam. It's my moment to love on your pretty self."

Bri smiled as she entered the living room. "Please tell me you're here so we can see if the babies fall in love!?" She wrapped her arms around Jacey and kissed the top of her head. "Let's see if we can pry him away from his daddy."

"No way." Juice shook his head and blocked Bri from taking Javier. "I'm not done bonding with him yet baby… I wanna see how much trouble I can get in with him."

The brunette nodded. "Jacey, Jacey, Jacey… Wanna help me in the kitchen really quickly?" I'm still sore and you can reach the thing better than me… Help me with the thing." She pulled Jacey up to her feet and tugged her towards the kitchen before sliding the doors shut that separated the kitchen from the rest of the house as she lifted herself onto the counter. "So, I wanted to touch basis with you about something…"

Jacey looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. "What'd you do now? Or what are you about to get into?"

"Bri…" Esai stopped as he saw the blonde on the counter. "My bad, am I interrupting?"

Bri shook her head. "Nah… I was just about to fill her in on the whole situation."

The blonde looked between her best friend and ex boyfriend. "What the hell is going on right now?"

He shrugged. "Bri has been helping me out with some shit… Was the only friend who I could go to with a request for help, who could actually help."

"That doesn't explain why you're coming into her kitchen without a shirt on…" Jacey looked at Bri. "Explain it better than he did."

Bri nodded. "He's been hanging out with Frey… They're perfecting the Viking torture method in the garage. I agreed to help him out with some mentoring thing. He wants to up the ante on being an outlaw."

"She's letting me borrow her guys. I've spent time with Aleksandr and Frey so far." Esai smiled. "How are you though Jacey, how's the family life?"

"I'm good, family life is great." Jacey flashed a force smile. "I'm going to check on Cam and Nik."

"I'm heading out. You don't have to make an awkward getaway." He shrugged. "I'll see you two later."

Bri watched him disappear into the garage before turning to Jacey. "That's so not how I wanted to tell you about Esai being around."

The blonde shook her head. "How long _has_ he been around?"

"A week." The brunette shrugged. "I was busy being mom and couldn't find my phone or energy to walk over to tell you… Heads up, big bro Esai is hanging around the house… Can we go play matchmaker with the babies? I'm so excited for Cam to cuddle with Javi."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Let's go make some cuteness happen."

Bri hopped off the counter and onto Jacey's back. "Carry me! I'm so damn tired that I can't even walk anymore boo! Did I show you my snap back? Like I've dropped ten pounds already."

"Why do you wanna torture me?" The blonde laughed before moving out of the kitchen, her best friend still attached to her back. "I'm gonna tell Hap that you're abusing me!"

"Because I love you." She slid off Jacey's back and smiled. "Let me see the baby." She sat down on the floor and pushed the coffee table out of the way as she watched Jacey spread out a baby blanket before sitting down and taking Camryn from Nik.

"Well, look at this shit." Bri laid Javier next to Camryn and smiled. "She already grabbed his hand! That's so damn cute, I'm gonna die if I don't take a picture right now." She pulled a container from under the sofa and opened it. "Say cheese!"

"You just have a camera lying around?" Jacey shook her head. "They look cute together… Best friends."

"I bought a few of these and they're all over the house for moments like this." The brunette shrugged. "I caught your photography bug Miss Teller. Look at you cuties, holding hands… Of course Javi is drooling and sleeping. That's life Cam, that's what the cute ones do."

Juice shook his head. "He's playing hard to get babe… That's what he's doing."

Bri smirked. "He better shape up… I think it's cute that they're gonna be best friends. It'll be like Jacey and I but Javi is gonna be the male version of me! Oh. My. Fuck."

**June 1, 2009**

"So, you've been here awhile now Javier." Bri spoke quietly to her son as she secured him inside of his car seat. "A short while but it's still some time to be around all the craziness that is your lovely family. I am so happy that you're here, I think everyone is. I'm hoping that the craziness dies down a little but still sticks because that's who we are." She moved through the house and paused as she grabbed her keys and purse. "You and mommy are going to see a therapist… I'm not feeling like my old self right now."

"Where are you going?" Juice eyed the brunette and his son. "I can come with you."

She shrugged and closed the back door before turning to look at the man. "I'm going to my doctor's appointment…"

He nodded. "I'll come with you… I like going to check ups."

"It's not a check up." Bri shook her head. "I'm going to see a therapist."

Juice blinked at her. "For what?"

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I feel depressed."

"I think that's normal… Some mom's go through that shit after having a baby." He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek.

"No… I've been feeling like this for a little while now. While I was still pregnant. It's been happening since April. I just thought it'd pass on it's own though." Bri pulled out of a hug. "I have to go. I don't want to be late."

"I can watch Javier." Juice mumbled. "It's not a problem."

"Alright, just hurry." The brunette got into her car. "Be good for your dad kid."

**SOA**

"I' here to see Dr. Burke." Bri smiled at the receptionist as she passed the woman her I.D and insurance card.

"Alright, Dr. Hohrykova, she should be calling you back soon." The woman smiled. "Just have a seat, I'll return your cards as soon as I process everything."

The brunette nodded. "If it's not covered just let me know. I can pay cash or whatever you guys accept." She smiled before accepting the clipboard and moving towards a chair in the corner of the spacious waiting room. "All these fucking questions." She looked down at the paperwork before starting to fill it out the best she could. "How long have you been feeling depressed?" _The last five or six years._ "How long have you been feeling sad?" _The last decade_. "Have you ever tried to hurt yourself?" _Been hurt by so many others that I don't even need to try; but nope, haven't tried to cause myself __**physical**__harm. _"Have you ever had thoughts of suicide?" _Well, nope. I do have thoughts of homicide though, lol. _

"Dr. Hohrykova." Dr. Burke smiled at the brunette. "You can follow me back, you can finish that while we talk if you haven't already."

"Alright." Bri nodded and stood up, following the short woman into the back and into an office that was the color of khakis. "Interesting color scheme. I'm a pure white, glass and fur type of person myself."

The blonde nodded. "So, tell me what brings you in today."

"I've noticed my anti-depressants have stopped working. Then I had to stop them completely because I got pregnant. So now I'm even worse off than I was before." She shrugged. "Everyone wants to tell me that it's a thing to feel depressed after having a baby. Post partum or whatever it's called but I've been feeling depressed and sad since I was about twenty."

"What happened around that time?" Dr. Burke looked up from her notepad. "Tell me everything you feel comfortable sharing with me."

Bri exhaled and nodded. "Well, I had just lost my husband and had a daughter that I put up for adoption. My brother and his wife adopted her. It was a pretty good setup. I was going to be her aunt and I got to focus on finishing up college and becoming a surgeon. It seemed like it was going to be perfect but it wasn't. I came back to the states, was going to school. I met this awesome chick, her name was Dani. I feel in love and she broke what was left of my already pieced together heart. I mean, it's been consecutive heartbreak from me. My high school boyfriend cheated on me and broke my heart, I gave away my daughter and the woman I saw myself being happy with didn't love me enough to tell her parents she was into women. Instead she broke things off, now she's married to a man and has a kid."

"I noticed you didn't bring up your husband when you said you had been through consecutive heartbreak." The blonde frowned. "Any reason to that?"

"My husband was a monster, it was an arranged marriage. I was physically and emotionally abused. His death was the best thing of the whole marriage." The brunette shrugged. "I'm just trying to be happy. I'm happy when I'm with my son or my daughter… Other people not so much. I can fake it to get by and no one seems to question it. Which sucks so much more…"

Dr. Burke nodded her head slowly. "Tell me, how's the relationship you're in now? Is it going well, you do have a son and I see a very gorgeous diamond ring on your finger."

Bri looked at her hand and shrugged. "It's alright, It's not the best but it's not the worse. I think he may be cheating on me again, that's off putting. We're engaged, I am having second thoughts about it all. Sometimes I just wish I wouldn't have come back to the states last summer, maybe I would be off in some European country instead of in California, watching everyone around me be happy and not being able to join in on it genuinely."

"Have you talked to anyone in your personal life about the way you're feeling?" She looked back up from her notepad. "You can't keep these feelings to yourself… It'll be catastrophic if you hold it in and then blow up all at once."

"_If_ I talked to people in my personal life about this, I wouldn't be sitting here in the chair seeking some sort of help." The brunette groaned. "I'm here because everyone besides my dad will look at me like I've lost my mind or they'll tell me that I should feel happy because I have everything that another girl would want… I feel trapped and I just want to take my kids and run away." Bri stood up and passed the woman her clipboard. "I have to go." She shook her head and moved out of the office and collected her items from the receptionist. "I _need_ to go."


	40. Chapter 40 Russia

**June 5, 2009 **

"Out of the three of you, you mean to tell me you let Brianna leave this house? Not only alone but with two kids?" Aleksandr looked at Frey, Ingrid and Elijah. "None of you thought to keep tabs on her, maybe call her. See where she up and left to? Why her cars are all sitting in the driveway but she's nowhere to be found. Passports gone, documents gone… Everything's gone."

"I asked her. She told me she was going to see Jacey and Happy." Ingrid finally spoke up. "I didn't think twice about it. I assumed she was spending a few days over there. It's not the most unusual thing."

The man groaned as he dragged a hand down his face. "Come on Frey, Elijah. We'll go next door and ask Jacey and Happy if they've seen her."

"What about Juice?" Frey looked at Elijah. "Should we call him?"

Aleksandr shrugged. "He's on a run. We'll get her back… He can't do shit. He's not even a man. He's behaving like a boy."

Elijah pulled opened the front door and walked out, rolling up his shirt sleeves. "I think if Jacey doesn't know where she is. We can safely assumed she's managed to leave the states with both kids."

"I guess we should pack to head over to Russia." Frey shook his head as they entered the Lowman-Teller property. "I don't wanna go back there…"

Aleksandr nodded before pounding on the front door. "You don't have to come with us… Go to Sweden my Viking friend." He smirked before pressing the doorbell repeatedly, shrugging as a very annoyed Happy opened the door. "Is Bri here?"

Happy looked at the three men before shaking his head. "No, she's not here."

Elijah stepped forward. "Any way we can speak with Jacey, see if she knows anything about where Bri went?"

"You guys managed to lose her?" Happy shook his head and allowed the men to enter the house. "Jacey! The Russians are here!"

Jacey walked into the living room and her face instantly fell at the sight. "I was expecting Bri, Nik and Svet… Not you three, plus babe, Frey isn't Russian."

Elijah eyed the blonde. "We're looking for Bri and want to know if you have any idea where she left. Or if she's even contacted you. She hasn't been home in about three days."

"What?" The blonde crossed her arms and glared at the men. "Please tell me you're fucking with me right now Elijah."

He shook his head slowly. "She's gone and she took the kids with her. We're assuming she went to Russia but we're not entirely sure."

Jacey shook her head. "I refuse to believe she's left! You're all lying and Bri and the kids are probably off at her beach house, relaxing or some shit! She doesn't even have a reason to leave! She has a kid, she's engaged, she has a family!"

Aleksandr shook his head. "She's not happy." He looked at the tiny blonde. "I'm sorry my dear… We'll find her and do our best to bring her and the kids home but I'm not too sure it'll happen."

"No way! She's coming home! I need her here!" The blonde looked at Happy then back at Aleksandr. "She had to be happy, otherwise she would have told me… Right? _Right?_"

"I'm afraid not." Elijah frowned. "She's just become amazing at pretending to be happy."

"We need to go, she's got three days on us." Aleksandr looked at Jacey. "We'll keep you informed if we find anything… Although, I think you're going to need a better reason for her to come back besides the fact that _you_ need her."

**SOA**

"This is where I grew up." Bri held Monica's hand as they moved through her childhood home. "I'll show you my room and everything… Isn't it nice to be on a vacation monkey? So many cute clothes and adventures to go on."

Monica nodded and smiled. "Yes! I love Russia!" She laughed as they took the spiral staircase up to the second floor. "This was your room!?"

The brunette nodded. "Yes! It was my princess room from when I was born until I left at fourteen to live in New York." She smiled at everything, it was exactly the same as she left it twelve years prior. "Come on Javi, you don't really like this room huh? Too girly?" She ran her hand over the vanity and opened the jewelry box. "I need to take some of this stuff back home with us."

"I love this fur." Monica came out of the closet in a fur coat and twirled around the room. "Can I have this one mommy?"

"Yeah baby." Bri smiled. "That was a gift from Aleksandr for my seventh birthday. It was my favorite coat, I wore it nearly every damn day for a month. Aleksandr has to take it from me and keep it until winter came back around."

"Brianna." Igor walked into the bedroom and stared at the brunette. "I thought I'd let you know that they're on their way over here."

Bri nodded. "I figured as much… Thanks for getting us here though Igor. I appreciate it."

The man nodded. "It was my pleasure."

"Don't worry, I won't let any of them hurt you." She moved towards him and hugged him tightly. "I'll protect you Igor."

**June 7, 2009 **

Bri sat on the steps of her childhood home, her grey eyes trained on the black SUVS pulling onto the ground. She knew she should retreat, she knew she should have left when Igor gave her news that Aleksandr and the guys were on their way to talk to her. Instead, she stayed in the city, didn't bother trying to hide or coerce the staff into lying on her behalf. She was going to face whoever got out of the SUVS, tell them she wasn't going home because she wasn't happy there. The the past chunk of her life had been all a perfectly executed lie.

Aleksandr was the first out of the SUVs, his legs carrying him quickly to the brunette. "Bri." He pulled her to her feet and gave her a thorough once over. "What were you thinking? Coming back here without telling anyone?"

She shrugged. "I told Igor. He kept me and the kids safe… It's not big deal, it's not like I haven't packed up and left town before."

He nodded. "You never had a family before." He frowned. "You're really that unhappy with life? Why don't you talk more about it to those who love you?"

Bri nodded. "Because I don't like talking about my feelings and everyone needs me to be happy for them… I'm not allowed to take time to myself and be unhappy." Her eyes flitted to Frey then to Elijah before settling on Happy and a very unhappy looking Jacey. "Why'd you bring them?"

Aleksandr shrugged. "They wanted to come and talk to you… Be nice Katarzyna, remember how I raised you."

She shrugged. "I'm going inside, it's a cold day." She backed up the stairs and retreated inside of the house, finding herself a seat in the kitchen. "Man, I can't even run away by myself." She sighed, hearing heavy footsteps on the floor before Jacey and Happy entered the kitchen. "You guys didn't have to fly to Russia…" She lifted her head, her grey eyes instantly on Jacey who was gripping the handle of Camryn's stroller.

"My best friend and sister is in need... What the fuck else am I supposed to do, Bri?" Jacey moved away from the stroller and toward Bri.

"Let me be dramatic and live in Russia." The brunette shrugged.

Jacey shook her head. "Said we'd run away together if one of us ever needed to."

"That's before you had a family J." Bri sighed. "I could never ask you to just uproot yourself and move to Russia. You have Hap and Cam, Hap wouldn't move here and Cam wouldn't leave her dad, and you wouldn't leave her."

The blonde shook her head. "What the hell are you to me, Bri? You're my fucking best friend... My family." She looked back at her daughter and shook her head again. "We would do it for you, because we love you."

"I know we're family but I couldn't stay there Jacey." She shook her head and frowned. "I wasn't happy there. I needed to leave and see if I could find it elsewhere…"

Jacey scoffed, turning her back to the brunette. "You could've said something, could've came to me, could've talked to me..." She turned around again, the necklace Bri gave her in her hand. "... Could've fucking said goodbye." The blonde threw the necklace at Bri.

Bri looked at the necklace before setting it on the counter. "What would have talking about it done? Would we have penciled in the time to work on my shit between getting your life back together? I put working on myself on hold because you needed me Jacey." She crossed her arms and shrugged. "Why are you even upset? Did you not move out of the state without telling anyone? Or is this only a big deal when I do it?"

"I didn't even ask you to put your life on hold! I just told you I needed you on a message... You could've called back and talked to me. I didn't even expect to see you ever again, Bri!" The blonde shook her head, running her fingers through her hair. "You wanna be mad at me about that? You wanna yell at me for running on my boyfriend? For strongly assuming that my relationship with my boyfriend and my daughter's father was over? Yell at me, be mad about it, fuck Bri... What do you want here? You're hurt because I didn't come running the first go round, you're hurt because I came after you this time. Brought your goddamn niece over here to get you, to talk to you..."

"Well, when my friends need me, I drop everything to help them. I guess I learned my lesson about doing that shit." The brunette shrugged again. "I never expected you to come after me the first time, I didn't even expect you to come after me this time… I just want to be happy, that's all that I want Jacey."

Jacey reached out and slapped Bri's face. "I can't fucking help you if you don't fucking talk to me, Brianna!" She gripped Bri's chin in her hand, forcing the brunette to look at her. "Too fucking bad... I'm here now and I packed for days so I guess you're just fucking stuck with me. And you're stuck with her too."

Bri shoved Jacey away from her and shook her head. "That was very unnecessary… You're not the easiest person to talk to Jacey… I don't even know how that stupid conversation would have went, 'Hey, I think I just fucked up my whole life by getting back with Juice then getting knocked up because I'm pretty sure he's still being a cheater. Oh and by the way, I've been popping anti-depressants like tic tacs for the last five years but they haven't been working.'" She moved around the counter. "Just because we're in the same house, doesn't mean we have to see or talk to each other… We managed to have that dynamic in Oakland and we were neighbors."

Jacey nodded, shaking her head as she moved back to Bri. "I'm sorry, Bri, do you hear me? I'm fucking sorry... I got way too caught up in my own shit and I should've been there." The blonde rolled her eyes before her eyes landed on her now very awake daughter. "I'm not going to let you away from me, Bri, you're stuck with me and if you can't get on board with that then you better get used to her because she can just as easily attach herself to you and not back off."

"Yes, I hear you." The brunette nodded. "I came here to be alone though, well alone when the kids are sleeping."

The blonde shrugged. "Since when do I follow instructions anyway?"

"Never." Bri shook her head. "I'm serious though, I just want to work on fixing myself and having my shit together."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Let me fucking help you... Jesus Bri." She looked back at the baby once she made a noise. "I don't want to leave you..."

"How are you going to help me?" The brunette eyed her best friend. "How?"

Jacey shrugged. "How are you going to help yourself? Whatever you need to do, I will be at your side, if that means we move to Igloo Castles in the South Pole then we will do it and we will freeze our asses off together..."

"I was hoping being around people who understand Russian, love furs, and overall the people who've raised me since I was still cooking in my mom's oven would help me reset and realize what I should be happy about." Bri shrugged. "I'd never live in an igloo… I wish I would have run away during the winter months."

Jacey nodded slowly, moving back to Cam's stroller. "Then we'll be on the next flight back to California." She sniffled and shook her head. "Ok."

"You guys can stay." The brunette nodded. "Maybe it'll be good to mix old and new… I just know I have to fix whatever is wrong with me and I'm willing to do about anything."

Jacey picked up her daughter, holding her to her chest. "No... You're right, you came here for a reason. I'll have Elijah take us to the airport..." The blonde looked back at her best friend. "You just get everything in order."

"Jacey you can fucking stay! Don't be so damn stubborn and difficult!" Bri shouted. " Stay! Explore Russia, explore the estate. Help me possibly pick out a new name for my son."

At the sound of Camryn's cry, Happy appeared in the kitchen again and grabbed the baby. "Don't fuckin' drag her into whatever bullshit you two got going on..." He quickly left the room and left the pair alone again.

"I'm not being stubborn and difficult. I'm trying to accommodate to you.." Jacey shook her head.

Bri rolled her eyes. "If that were true, you wouldn't have even come here… You can stay but if you don't want to then you are free to go back home."

"Excuse me for caring..." Jacey shrugged. "Love you too much to let you runaway without me..."

"Why do you care this time anyway?" The brunette dropped her gaze to the white granite countertops. "Happy would have hunted me down if I took his girls away from him."

Jacey shrugged. "I don't know... I guess because I love you and I always will and I always have." She shook her head. "I don't know, I think he'd let us have a little vacation with his favorite Russian..."

"I love you too." Bri smiled. "I'm surprised he is even in Russia… Thought it'd be too prissy for him."

The blonde laughed, shaking her head. "You upset his baby...he so didn't like that at all. Once the guys told me, I started freaking out and so did she."

"I didn't upset her on purpose… Well, I'm sorry. It was the only thing I knew to do." She shrugged. "Bet you five dollars Juice hasn't even noticed yet."

Jacey nodded. "We know but he couldn't calm her down for nothing. Normally she'll relax in his presence but she's ok now. Doesn't like seeing you upset though..." The blonde shrugged. "Then fuck him... You deserve better anyway. I'm sorry you got mixed up with that bullshit."

"My poor baby girl… I'm gonna have to love on her." Bri smiled and nodded. "It's alright, I guess. I love him but I don't think he's into it. It's like he checked out half way through the pregnancy… He even started going on runs again, even though he promised he'd lay off them."

Jacey shook her head. "She just wants some attention, who gives it to her the best..." She rolled her eyes, grabbing the necklace back off the counter. "Funny... Juice isn't technically needed on most of the recent runs. Hap is, but Jax told him to stay with us... Juice does shit except run software bullshit... The asshole."

"I'm totally taking her to get fitted for her first fur coat." The brunette frowned. "That's what I was asking him. He keeps feeding me the bullshit that he's one of the younger guys and has to still do bitch work with the prospect… Then when he's actually home he keeps weird hours, sometimes he'll claim it's club shit but sometimes he doesn't even take his kutte… I'm pretty sure he's been cheating or was cheating."

Jacey laughed, pulling Bri to her. "Take Hap to get a fur coat too, little fur might just do him some good. He loves time with her so technically you'd have to take him with you anyway." She shook her head. "Hap and Koz know all that goes on... Go ask Hap, he won't lie to you."

"I would love to see him in a fur." Bri smiled before shaking her head. "It'd be so embarrassing if Hap and Koz knew he was cheating or sneaking around before I did… I don't wanna ask but I really wanna know."

Jacey shrugged. "I'll make him wear just that... He would kill me." She laughed, shaking her head. "You want me to? I'll just say shit seems sketch."

"Oh my God." The brunette smirked. "That was quite a lovely image… Nah, I'll ask him, you just be there to hold my hand and catch me if I faint."

The blonde laughed. "You so weren't supposed to imagine that... Now he's gonna kill us both." She pulled Bri to her, kissing her head. "Was a pretty good image though, huh? I'll be there, we can do it now if you want... I'll be there whenever. Just make sure Cam doesn't hear our nonsense, she's been paying lots of attention to everything lately. Dunno why..."

Bri smirked. "Very amazing image… She's like her dad, wants to see and know everything about what's happening around her. I guess we can talk to him. Get it over with. I'm hoping that I'm wrong and am just being paranoid."

"The man looks good with anything... What the hell else are we supposed to expect?" She grinned. "I don't know, babe, maybe so but from what you've said, doesn't sound so good... Come on, lead the way."

"One man shouldn't be allowed to look that damn good though… He should be arrested." The brunette nodded and started towards the living room. "Tell me that I don't need all this furniture in my house… I'm tempted to have it packed up and shipped… I will die if Juice was unfaithful."

Jacey shrugged, nodding her head. "Did I luck in or what? And all those tattoos... They're everywhere... You have to see his newest one. Under his smiley faces, it's so cute and shit. Honestly didn't expect him to get anything, but he did. Even let dumbass Kozik do it." The blonde laughed, her blue eyes falling on Frey holding Camryn while Happy was laying on the floor letting Monica draw on his back. "Are we having fun?"

"Glad to see monkey has her best friend to draw on." Bri smiled. "It's like a ragtag family moment happening right now."

Happy looked up and shrugged. "We couldn't find any paper and Frey didn't want to be drawn on... I told her I needed more tattoos anyway. No big deal." He grinned at his girlfriend. "Your kid doesn't like this shit at all."

"She doesn't like Russia or she doesn't like Monica drawing on your back?" Jacey looked at Happy.

He pointed to Monica. "Monica getting my attention... Tried to get her to lay down beside but she wasn't having it. Seems to like Frey though." Happy shrugged.

"Everyone loves Frey." Bri sat down on the sofa. "When you're finished getting that Monica tattoo, I need to ask you a serious adult question Happy."

Happy twisted a little. "How adult, Brianna?" He looked back at her then looked at Jacey. "I don't wanna be apart of whatever mess you two are trying to make. Just leave me to get more tattoos."

"Baby... Please." Jacey sat down beside Frey and poked at Camryn's stomach. "Guess you're just gonna starve for the night, huh, Cam?"

"It's so adult Hap, I promise! It's not us trying to create a mess, it's sort of club and Juice related actually." Bri shook her head. "Is Cam Cam eating baby food now?"

Happy slowly nodded his head. "Hey, shortcake, how's that tattoo coming along?" He turned the opposite way and looked at his girlfriend. "She didn't like them damn bananas... Tried that Apple blueberry shit and she ate half of it. Guess you could say she's eating baby food."

"You do realize she's just writing her name and drawing hearts and stars?" Bri smiled. "I'll make her some yummy baby food… Cami you and I are gonna be eating some amazing food later."

Happy turned around, glaring at Bri. "I don't judge you on your art, don't judge me on mine... You're just jealous because I've got the best tattoo artist in the world..." He reached his arms back and picked up the six year old off his back. "Come on, I'm getting lightheaded, you're doing too much needlework, see if Frey will take you to go find some trouble." He grinned as he stood up. "Even trade, man... Trouble maker for a trouble maker."

Frey nodded and passed Camryn back to Happy before taking Monica. "Come on kid, let's see if we can't get the swords off the wall and start a fight."

"You better win, shortcake or I'm disowning you." Happy poked Monica's sides before moving toward the couch his girlfriend was sitting on and laid down, putting his head in her lap. "Alright, Bri, what's this shit about? You know I can't tell you any shit about the club unless it involves you."

"I know that… It's about Juice." Bri started. "He's always on runs, I don't think he actually needs to be on but for some reason he keeps telling me he's needed. I don't think his story is checking out and something else might be going on…"

Happy looked over at Bri and shrugged. "He goes on runs, hides out in a dorm room all damn night though." He looked at Jacey before looking back at Bri. "Seems to know our new bartender Gigi real well though... Actually no, she hasn't been around lately. Wasn't there the last time I was at the clubhouse, at least."

"I met Gigi once, she was nice very nosey though." The brunette scrunched up her face and sighed. "I'm just trying to find a reason as to why he doesn't wanna be home… I mean for fucks sake, he proposed to me."

Happy shrugged. "He deals with shit differently, Bri... Something may have happened on a run that's not sitting well with him. Thinks if he talks to you, he's putting his shit on you. Told you that kid was idiot. Anyone listen to me? Course not..." The man shrugged again. "What was the girl asking you about?"

"Yeah, well I always knew he was an idiot but I didn't think he was gonna shut himself off towards me. One minute he's all happy and into the family thing and the next minute he's distance and can't even call to check in." Bri groaned. "She was asking me about how I met Juice, congratulated me on the ring… I didn't even think anything about it really."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Let me hunt her down and choke her out..."

"Whoa... No talking so violently around the baby. She's sensitive to your foul ass." Happy flicked the blonde's chin. "You ever stop him and talk to him about shit? Heard communication is healthy or some shit. But what do I know? I'm just a single dad, partying hard with my kid." He smirked at his girlfriend.

"I ask him about things and he'll tell me it's all fine and that if anything was ever wrong, he would talk to me about it." Bri sighed. "Pretty sure Cam belongs to Jacey and me… We're gonna take her shopping for fur coats before you guys leave to go home."

Happy chuckled, trying to scowl at Jacey but couldn't stop laughing. "Tell him you don't believe his bullshit and threaten him. Maybe it works the same for you guys like it does us... Pretty sure you're out of your mind. These are my girls." He shook his head. "What's she need a fur coat for? She doesn't even like clothes."

"I can't threaten him, it'll end up with him hanging upside down in the garage with Frey and Igor holding blow torches to his stomach because he won't tell me a thing… I'm not above having him tortured at this point but I got something else in mind… Something that'll hurt way worse than physical pain." The brunette flashed an evil grin. "Can you stop taking my girls from me? First Jacey, then Monica, now Cam… She needs a fur coat for the family photo."

Jacey laughed. "I'll be your best friend if you let me help..." She scratched Happy's head. "You know since I'm apparently single, guess I'll go cuddle up with Elijah tonight. He's a pretty good cuddler..." She grinned, looking up at Bri. "And Cam Cam loves him, all is good on that front."

"Oh, you and Elijah? I can see that. You'd be a gorgeous couple." Bri chuckled. "I'm thinking of giving Javier a traditional Russian name and giving him my last name…"

Happy sat up, his daughter now asleep on his chest. "That's fine... But you ain't keeping my girl... She's gonna sleep with me. Likes me more than you anyway." He cocked an eyebrow at Jacey before turning to Bri. "Go find me a Russian girlfriend... Cam will have a new mom." He turned back to Jacey and kissed her cheek. "Keep playing, Jace..."

"You wanna meet my sister? She's blonde and has blue eyes like Jacey." Bri shrugged. "You two can keep joking around but I think I need to go raid the liquor cabinet and become an alcoholic again."

Jacey shook her head. "I'd kill you, Happy Lowman!" She pulled Camryn out of her boyfriend's arms. "I'm going to set the pack n play and laying her down, then me and Bri are going to lay down... No where near liquor."

"You two still should meet her, she's a trip. She's like Nik but psycho." The brunette moved off the sofa. "There's probably liquor in the bedroom…"

Happy shrugged. "Blonde with blue eyes and psycho tendencies... Sounds like my type." He smirked at his girlfriend. "Let me keep her... I'll lay down with her."

"I don't know. I don't need you trying to introduce her to any strange women Hap." Jacey smirked and looked at her daughter. "If she cries, bring her to me."

The man shook his head. "If she cries, she cries. I'm gonna let her just cry it out. Odds are, she's gonna get upset because she's not comfortable anymore. She'll be alright." He kissed the blonde. "Stay out of trouble, woman. Both of you, ya hear me, Priss?"

"Yeah, loud and clear… No trouble but lots of fun." Bri nodded. "When you guys are ready to sleep or something, I'll have someone show you to the guest suite."

Jacey nodded. "Go ahead and show him so he can have the room set up for her... She's gonna wake up hungry soon and then she'll be down for the night." She smiled wide. "I'm so glad she sleeps through the night... You don't know how happy I am."

"I'm gonna play tour guide." The brunette smiled. "Come on Hap, Cam… Stairs or dumb weighter?"

Jacey shook her head. "Stairs. They'll keep his chunky ass in shape." She moved after them, wrapping her arms around Hap. "Need my _boy_ strong and in shape."

Bri rolled her eyes. "At least some of us are in happy relationships." She moved up the stairs and towards the guest room. "Just toss the furs off the bed." She walked inside of the suite and shrugged. "There's a bathroom over there. If you need anything press the intercom button and one of the staff will bring it to you, no matter what time of night."

Jacey moved away from Hap and pulled Bri to her. "Come on, let's go be frisky and scandalous in some random room of the house. We need to better our relationship anyway." Jacey kissed Bri's head. "Have fun, Hap!"

"Let's take it to the princess suite." Bri grabbed Jacey and started tugging her towards her bedroom. "See if we can't swing from the chandelier or something."

Jacey shook her head. "That's so not what j had in mind, damn it." She grinned. "Come on, I'm trying to get laid in Russia!"

"I'm still out of commission from having the baby but I can totally use my tongue on you if need be." The brunette walked into her bedroom and flipped on the lights. "It's nothing special but the bed is amazing."

Jacey slowly crawled onto the big bed. "Kids are off my list. Being out of commission sucks. I missed sex so much... And then Cam sleeps like a hibernating bear. Life was so good when I came home from that doctor's visit." She smiled as she watched Bri lay beside her.

"I think I'm gonna get my tubes tied." Bri shrugged. "Javi sleeps pretty well when he's in the mood to. I just need some sex but I have like three more weeks of no fun."

Jacey nodded. "Watch me get knocked up again like two years from now... You know me, I never learn my lesson. I can happily say we make some beautiful babies though. The only time Cam isn't even remotely cute is when she scrunches up her face and starts to cry. It's terrible, she looks just like Hap." She smiled. "Javi is my baby, I love his cuddles. He's so sweet."

"If you get knocked up again, I don't wanna hear no damn complaints about it." She shook her head. "You can take Javi… He reminds me of Juice, the other day Monica tried to style his hair into a stupid ass mohawk. I cried for an hour over it all."

Jacey laughed, shaking her head. "I'll complain to you the most, damn it." She pulled Bri closer to her. "He can't help who his dumbass Daddy is... He just wants to love on you..."

"I'll be like, didn't I remind you to take your pills!?" The brunette nodded. "I've been loving on him because he's my prince… Aleksandr stole him from Igor."

The blonde shrugged. "Fuck a pill, doesn't even do shit for me. If I get pregnant again, Hap is at fault. He's the one with the magic ingredient..." She kissed Bri's head. "He and Monica are all you need, fuck Juice. Plus you've got me, the guys, your baby girl Cam and your other boyfriend... That's all you need."

"Get the implant, just a rod in the arm and you'll be good until you want a baby." Bri nodded. "I just wanted it to work out this time around… Who's my other boyfriend? I wasn't aware that Dr. Banks was in my life like that?"

Jacey shook her head. "No, don't say anything but he definitely wants another one. Once when Cam starts hating him at least..." The blonde shrugged. "Maybe it really is something that happened with the club, he's just trying to be considerate and not put shit on you. We don't know that he's cheating, babe. He'd be a fool to do so anyway." She pointed to Bri's face. "You're gorgeous, brilliant, a damn piñata... You're full of fun surprises and did I even mention how perfect you are? He'd be stupid..." Jacey shrugged again. "Hap so acts like your boyfriend... Hell, he apparently co-parents Monica. I apparently have a step-daughter, Bri, where did that even come from?!"

"That's so cute that he wants another kid… Who would have thought you two would be making all these adult changes!" Bri smiled and nodded. "I so want to be wrong about this J, I _need_ to be wrong about this shit. Thanks for all the compliments." She poked at Jacey's nose. "Hap is something else… I don't even know where that came from. I just thought they'd be friends, not him stepping up and basically being a father figure. I thought Juice would do that shit."

The blonde nodded, smiling. "Started sometime around the time he learned I was pregnant with his girl. He loves her so much... It kills me." She shook her head. "I'll tell Hap to keep an eye out for him. Make him go on the next run." She laughed, shrugging. "Her and Hap were close from the get go... Hell, did you know about their time at the beach last summer? He hates the sand, but she buried him in it. I remember him taking a shower with me that night and he had it everywhere... It was so ridiculous. That's his baby girl just as much as Camryn is..."

"Yeah." Bri smiled. "It's still always so cute to see Happy as this hardcore family man. He's basically the perfect balance of outlaw and dad."

Jacey smiled. "The man is a mess over them... Wouldn't be surprised if we found him with both of them, he's probably cuddling with them both now. Damn man loves them."

The brunette nodded. "You want something to eat?"

"No, I do want some sleep though. Might go cuddle with my boy... Need some little J in my life." She smiled, looking down at Bri laying on her stomach. "There's no baby in there this time, not gonna hear anything or bond with her..." She laughed.

"The littlest J." Bri smile. "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to admire your stomach up close and personal… Living in the gym or what?"

Jacey smiled, shrugging. "Hap likes to new set of tits so I decided to make the workouts less extreme." She poked her own breasts. "Do you remember me crying over my body never being the same again?" She rolled her eyes. "I was a train wreck, Bri, why'd you allow that shit?"

"I remember telling you that it'd go back to normal." She chuckled. "Of course you didn't wanna believe me but look at you! All in shape with some big titties and a nice ass. You go girl."

Jacey scoffed, shaking her head. "Did you see my big ass basketball of a belly? All for a six pound baby... The baby girl was little as hell and just wanted to curl up in a ball. I so didn't need to be that big!" She laughed. "I really need to know how I went from C cup to double fucking D. Hap loves it."

"You looked all cute pregnant though." Bri poked at Jacey's chest. "It's a wonder to us all! You're giving me a run for my money."

The blonde laughed, shaking her head. "Clearly had to nourish my baby girl..." She shrugged. "I love yours! They're perfect!"

"They wanted to stay with you… Maybe they're that size because you're gonna end up having another kid." Bri shrugged. "Thanks, I love mine too! Especially when I'm bored, I just squeeze 'em."

Jacey shrugged, poking her breasts. "Or maybe my body likes Hap and his love."

"That too." Bri smirked. "I thought you were going to sleep."

She laughed. "You distracted me... Not my fault."

"Nope." The brunette shook her head. "I'm just laying here, minding my own business."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go disturb my boyfriend... He needs some trouble in his life."

"But I was just about to get all nearly naked and stuff." Bri rolled of the bed and sighed. "I guess I can wait."

The blonde shrugged. "What does you causing trouble with Hap have to do with you getting nearly naked? He's seen it all before... The man is an ex-whore..." She laughed. "I'll be glad when Cam starts talking and walking... I need that so much."

"I was gonna take my clothes off and burrow under my blankets." Bri shrugged. "When she starts talking and walking she'll be that much closer to leaving you guys for me."

The blonde shook her head. "I don't think he's above killing you... Can you even imagine her starting school and getting older? Oh god, poor Hap."

"If he kills me, I hope he has mercy and makes it quick." The brunette rolled her eyes. "I see him not wanting to leave her on the first day of kindergarten and saying it's Cam that wants him to stay with her."

Jacey laughed, shaking her head. "Sixteen year old wild child... He's gonna regret life so much. Especially if she's anything like me..."

"She's gonna go to Monica to help her be sneaky… I see it now." Bri laughed as she pulled her shirt over her head before letting her hair down. "Shirts are stupid, I like tank tops so much better… No I love crop tops so much better."

Jacey laughed, groaning. "First boyfriends for both of them are going to be absolute hell... Poor babies!" She nodded. "Fuck clothes period, I hate them all."

"I think Monica is on her second boyfriend but she hasn't told Hap." The brunette nodded. "If I could be naked all the time I would be but I need to get back in shape so when I'm all in shape, we're going to a nude beach to run around and laugh at all the odd looking dicks."

Jacey groaned. "Oh god, don't let him find out. He'd go ballistic, might even cry." She laughed, nodding eagerly. "I need to be naked all over the place. Burrow in the fur, babe, I'm gonna go cuddle with all the babies then come back and cuddle with you." Jacey kissed Bri's head.

"It will be over as soon as she realizes she's going home to Oakland." Bri smiled. "Alright, go get some love… Hell, cross off getting laid in Russia on your bucket list."

Jacey shrugged. "I wasn't going to get laid but now that I've got permission to do so in the house, I'm taking full advantage... Might even broaden Hap's horizons to fur." She grinned. "Maybe I can make him love it like some others..."

"The walls are thick… You guys can be as loud as you want and no one will hear a thing." Bri shrugged. "If you guys fuck on a fur, consider it a gift to take home with you."

Jacey nodded, kissing Bri's head again. "In that case, I hope he likes fur... Otherwise he's just fucked." She shrugged. "Oh well, I love you gorgeous!"

"Soon as it hits his bare ass, he'll fall in love." Bri smirked. "Love you too… Night J." She yawned and watched the blonde disappear from the room before crawling under the blankets and settling into the pillows.

* * *

**Next chapter will have a lot of Juice. (:**


	41. Chapter 41 Home

**June 9, 2009**

Juice walked into the house and expected to hear the normal laughter and talking of his girlfriend and her daughter. Instead, he was welcomed by silence and cold. He dropped his backpack outside of the kitchen and entered it slowly, pulling open the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water before looking out of the large picture window to see an empty backyard. "Where are you Brianna?"

"Miss Bri is gone." Ingrid answered the young man as she walked into the kitchen. "She took the kids and went home to Russia."

"What?" He blinked at the gray haired woman. "What do you mean she took the kids and went home to Russia? Her home is here! With me! She took my son!? Why would she fucking do that?"

The older woman just stared at Juice before shrugging. "I don't know why she went. I just know she packed bags and took off to Russia a few days ago. Aleksandr went after her, Happy and Jacey went too. They're all there trying to bring her home. They called earlier, they said they tried to reach you but your phones went straight to voicemail."

He ran a hand down his face and nodded slowly, trying to allow the information to sink in as he cycled through thoughts. "Is Nik around? I need to talk to her…"

Ingrid shook her head. "I think she might be in her room but I'm not sure."

Juice moved out of the kitchen, taking the stairs three at a time before he hit the landing and marched straight to Nik's room, knocking on the door before just letting himself inside of the dark room. "Nik!"

"What!?" The blonde turned the lights on and stared over at Juice. "I'm trying to work through a migraine right now Juice. What's so damn important that you're in here?"

"The fact that my fiancee packed up and moved to Russia with the kids. That's what's so fucking important Nik. I don't know if you've heard or if you even give a damn." He started to pace the room, not caring if the tears were starting to roll down his cheeks. "She just took my family away from me."

Nik sighed and rolled her eyes. "She's going to come back. She's working through some shit, like an unsupportive asshole of a partner who keeps distancing himself from her and their child. You think she's happy? Huh? You thought she was gonna stick around while you continued to break promise after fucking promise to her? You may think you going on runs is some valid excuse to be away but everyone knows that you're hardly ever needed on runs, we all know that Happy is the one needed but you just invite yourself along because you're too much of a little bitch to talk to Bri about the shit going on in your head."

Juice paused to look at the irritated young woman before rolling his head. "I'm not a little bitch. I just don't want to dump my shit on her Nik! I don't want to burden her with my feelings and the way I fucking feel. Obviously she's been keeping her shit to herself as well."

She scoffed. "She's been seeing a therapist… She's been getting help. Whereas your ass decided your therapy was going and paying an escort named Gigi to listen to you pour your heart out… How is that shit going to sound when you finally break down and tell Bri about that little indiscretion?"

He laid face first on the bed and groaned even louder. "I fucked up and I hope I can fix that shit and I hope Bri and I can work through all of this shit… I'd die if we couldn't make it work, I don't wanna fucking lose her."

Nik nodded. "Alright, you're a fucking giant baby." She patted next to her. "Take a nap, I'll make some calls and see if I can't get her on the phone so you can talk to her."

**SOA**

Bri sent her phone flying out of her bedroom window before screaming. "Why the fuck is he still not answering his goddamn phone!?" She whipped around and looked at Frey who was standing just inside the door, an amused smirk on his handsome face. "This isn't fucking funny Frey! I'm a fucking mess right now! He's _still_ not answering my calls. I'm so fucking fed up, it's not even funny right now…"

Frey moved further into the room and wrapped his arms around the brunette and lifted her off the ground. "It's not funny but you're cute when you're angry… I was told to carry you down to breakfast because you've barely eaten since you've got here and that's not good for milk production or some shit." He stalked out of the room and down the stairs slowly. "You need to relax."

"I'm relaxed." The brunette rolled her eyes as she was placed at the table. "I don't wanna eat, I'm not hungry at all. I just wanna sleep and cuddle my babies." She looked at her ring and sighed as the diamond caught the sunlight streaming through the window. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe anyone would love me completely and want to be in a relationship with me. I'm starting to believe that I'm not a catch or some shit." She slipped the ring off her finger and set it in the middle of the table. "That was fun while it lasted. Back to being single."

He shook his head as he placed a plate of waffles in front of the crying young woman before pressing a kiss to her head. "There's nothing wrong with you beside you picking assholes to get involved with. You've been in what? Two serious relationships? Juice and that Dani chick? They're both assholes, you deserve so much fucking better than what they have put you through. One day you're going to wake the fuck up and realize that you can't just settle. Maybe the love you once shared with Juice was amazing and unbreakable but you're both two different people now, it's only logical that the love could have changed."

She nodded as she drizzled syrup over the waffles and sighed. "I just want to be loved and I guess I've been going out and looking for it in all the wrong places… I just feel so damn stupid because this time around, I got pregnant and I love my son but damn… I just feel like I fucked up my life plans. I can't even work right now. I'm an unemployed surgeon… I'm never going to get serious work with my splotchy ass work history. I'm resigning to the thought of being a stay at home mom and just raising the kids and drinking a bottle of wine a night because it's the only way I'll be able to keep functioning. I'm turning into my fucking mother."

"My dearest Katarzyna, don't be so hard on yourself." Aleksandr sat across from the brunette, picking up the diamond ring from the table and shoving it in his pocket. "I assume you've had enough time here to clear your mind and figure out how you want to go about things when you return to Oakland. I know you talked about selling your home."

Bri nodded her head and rolled her eyes as Happy came and sat down at the table. "You come to talk me into leaving as well Hap?"

Happy nodded slowly. "I want to get my girls back home to Oakland… That includes you and Monica. Much as I would love to pack up and leave you here where you wanna be but my girlfriend wants her best friend back in Oakland, right next door. So you coming with us willingly or do I gotta shove your ass in my duffel and smuggle you back into the states?"

She shrugged. "I'll go back home to Oakland but I do want to find a smaller house, maybe up the street but if not that then I am thinking of moving down to Los Angeles. It'll probably better my chances of getting work but that move won't happen for awhile and until after I talk to Jacey about it all."

The biker smirked and tapped on Bri's hand. "You really done with the idiot this time?"

"Yeah, I think so." Bri nodded. "I can't do the relationship if he's only half in… I have my struggles and faults but at least I try to talk to him about 'em. I just threw in the towel because he was never around anymore to talk to or goof around with. It sucks. I'm single and I'm staying single for a _long_ while."

Happy rolled his eyes. "I know you're gonna be right back with that idiot the moment he smiles at you… Too pretty to be that fucking dumb when it comes to men. Not all of the good ones are actually good…"

"I thought he was good because he made all these promises and I guess I am stupid to have believed him when he said it'd be different this time. Part of me is just banking on him not actually being a cheater this time around." She raked her fingers through her freshly cut hair. "If he did cheat, I'm going to need to know where to hide a body…"

"I got you." Happy nodded and stood up slowly. "So I can tell the girls that you're coming home with us to Oakland?"

Bri nodded. "Yeah, you can tell all three of them."

Aleksandr smiled. "So we're going back to Oakland? I'll find an agent to list the house with."

"Alright." She smiled back at him before taking a bite from her waffle. "Sounds good to me… I guess tell the pilot to fire up the jet."

**June 10, 2009**

Juice slowly started to wake up, feeling the heat from the sun on his back as he tried to determine his surroundings. He was in a bed but it wasn't his own or one at the club. "What the hell?"

"You're finally fucking awake, congrats." Nik smacked the back of Juice's head. "You've been asleep for nearly a full damn day Juice. I couldn't even bring a bed buddy back in here because you took over my bed."

He sat up and looked at the blonde and frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sleep so damn long." He stood up slowly and looked down at himself. "I don't even remember getting undressed or taking my boots off."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I helped you out of the clothes… I've been here a few times. Taking care of a sad friend. You should shower and I'll make you something to eat… Oh, Bri and the kids are coming home. She said she tried to call you a bunch of times but your phones kept going to voicemail. I didn't tell her you were here though, so you're welcome."

"Thanks." He nodded before moving towards the bedroom door. "I gotta call her back, see what she needed from me." He walked out of the room and jogged down the stairs, finding his backpack outside of the kitchen door where he left it. He dug through the contents, quickly finding his phones and trying to power them on. _Dead_. Both of them. "Fuck!" He entered the kitchen and quickly plugged in both devices, watching them instantly power up. He looked at his personal phone and growled. "Fifteen missed calls from Bri, ten texts, one voicemail." He went into his inbox, his jaw going slack as he read the last text from his soon to be wife. "Nik!"

"What?" She asked as she slid into the kitchen, laughing as she collided with the fridge. "Why must you always yell my name?"

"Bri called off the engagement…" He passed her the phone. "I didn't think it'd go _that_ far."

Nik read the texts before shaking her head and passing the phone back. "That's totally fixable. Call her, leave her a voicemail. Let her know that your phones were dead and you couldn't find a charger to save your life. That you wanna talk when she gets back and work everything out. It's time to fess up to the whole Gigi debacle… I'll own up to getting rid of her and keeping the secret but still…"

Juice nodded. "This is fixable… I can fix this shit." He dialed her number and was instantly greeted with the voicemail message before talking until he was cut off by the beep. "I left the message, hopefully we'll be able to talk when she comes home… I miss her and my baby boy. I don't care what the fuck I have to do but I'm going to win her back."

* * *

**Just a short filler chapter before things get even more real.  
**


	42. Chapter 42 Gigi

**June 11, 2009 **

Bri stretched as she got out of the SUV and looked up at her house. A bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach as she accepted Javier from Aleksandr with a weak smile. "I'm not too sure I wanna go inside… I'm not too sure if I wanna see Juice."

Aleksandr nodded at the brunette. "Understandable but you will have to talk to him eventually. Better sooner than later when things are far too wrecked to be fixed. At least make some kind of arrangement, if all fails at least you two can do is co parent with him."

She nodded and looked down at her son and smiled. "I guess I'm about to go talk to your dumb ass dad about this whole situation. I hope you love us regardless of what happens in there. I don't think I could handle if you hated me or your dad."

Aleksandr shook his head and thumped Bri on her head. "Don't talk like that to the child. He won't hate you or Juice as long as you both continue to be in his life and love him unconditionally. He's only going to hate you if you two are mean to him."

Bri smirked. "He doesn't understand me… I love him always, he's half of my heart just like his big sister is… Huh Javi? Let's go inside and get you all changed and into a comfortable onesie and see if we can't talk to daddy civilly." She watched Frey carry Monica into the house before following after them. "It's weird being in here, I miss my princess room and my princess bed back in Russia."

"You're inching closer to thirty, you don't need the princess room or princess bed. You need a room and a bed fit for the Queen you are… We'll work on it. I have calls to make to some agents to see about getting this house listed on the market if you're still up to it, you don't have to agree, just let the agent come and have the house appraised so if you go through with it, you'll know exactly what it's worth." Aleksandr pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead before doing the same to his grandson. "When you talk to Juice, make sure to leave _everything _on the table. Make sure to get everything out in the open. Don't walk away knowing you didn't let him know everything and don't let him out of that room until he answers every fucking question that you have for him. You understand me?"

She nodded. "Yes, I understand." She smiled before starting up the stairs, holding her son securely to her body as she entered his room, turning on the lights before gently placing him into his swing as she grabbed the items she needed to change him and get him comfortable and out of the clothes he had worn on the trip back. "I'm so sorry for toting you all the way to Russia but it was fun huh? Mommy relaxed, Aunt Jacey got to see where I grew up, Hap even had some fun. Most of all your big sister Monica got to see some of her old friends before we left. It was a good trip and I'm glad that we went."

"Your so handsome my love." Bri held her son up as she admired the outfit he was currently in. "You're going to be a real lady killer. I saw the way you were holding onto Jacey like she was life. She's pretty but her daughter Cam is going to be a little bit older than you, you'll be best of friends and maybe even go out." She walked out of the room and into her bedroom, hearing the shower water running as she set Javi in the swing and sat down on the floor in front of him. "I guess daddy is showering and getting all clean and whatnot before we have that talk. I hope we don't yell and upset you."

Juice turned off the shower water, listening carefully as he heard Bri's distinct giggle permeate the still air. He shook his head, thinking it was his mind playing another cruel joke on him. He quickly dried off and tugged on boxers and a pair of sweats before walking out of the bathroom. "Bri." He mumbled as his brown orbs fell on the brunette sitting in front of the baby swing, talking and laughing. "How long have you been here?"

She turned and looked at him. "Not long about fifteen minutes." She shrugged before turning her attention back on her son.

He nodded before moving closer towards the pair. "Can I hold him?"

Bri nodded. "Yeah, he's your son too." She watched as the baby boy was lifted out of the swing, yawning as soon as he rested against Juice's bare chest. "So, we apparently need to talk about a lot of shit that's been happening with us."

"Yeah, I agree a talk is necessary." Juice sat down on the chaise lounge and looked at Bri for a moment. "You cut your hair."

She smiled and touched her hair. "I need a change, I was tired of the ass length hair… Bra strap length is better on me… So, I guess I'll start sharing my feelings and thoughts about this situation. If that's fine with you."

He nodded. "Yeah, you can go first babe."

"I'm not happy, I haven't been happy in a long while. It's nothing against you, it's just everything from my past… I was happy when we found each other again and thought we'd have the same love now as we did back then. I was even happier when I found out I was pregnant with Javi. It just seemed to all go to shit when we got back from Vegas. I get you're in the club and have obligations to it but it was annoying for you to _always_ pick going on runs instead of hanging out with me and being there for me. I started feeling depressed then but then you took time off and promised to spend two months with us, I was good again. I knew you were going to be there to help then two weeks into it you're skipping out on us. Not to mention I can't help but think you're out there cheating on me." Bri sighed and looked at the man. "It's not fair to me to be in a one sided relationship. I know you have to be going through shit and it fucks me up that you don't even wanna talk to me about it."

"I wasn't trying to desert you during your pregnancy. I had this feeling of nothing being able to properly provide for you or him… I just wanted to be able to pass you some cash instead of you always covering all the doctor bills and that shit consumed me. I'm sorry I went on so many runs and I'm sorry for breaking promises to you Bri… I was just trying to work up to being the man you deserved and not just some lowly outlaw." He sighed and looked at the gorgeous brunette. "I know I haven't been telling you shit it's because you were pregnant and I didn't want to dump all that shit on you while you were in an easily stressed out state."

"You're going to hit me with that bullshit right now? We're in a fucking relationship, you should tell me shit regardless if I'm pregnant or not. I can handle your baggage, I mean come on Juan Carlos. I pulled you into my shit with Aleksandr and the guys, that's not an easy thing by any means. It just sucks to know that you rather bottle everything up inside instead of talking to me about it." She shook her head and looked at him. "I don't care if you're the richest man in the fucking world, money has shit to do with me loving you or wanting to be with you… Like you were so caught up trying to be something that you aren't that you missed some amazing moments with me and your son."

He looked down at Javier who was fast asleep and sighed. "I don't know how many times or ways I can say this but I'm sorry Bri… It just seemed like it'd be the best if I kept everything to myself… You've kept shit to yourself."

"Because you weren't fucking here for me to talk to! Do you know how many times I've cried myself to sleep during that pregnancy? It was a whole fucking lot. It sucked not having the man I love laying next to me when I needed him the fucking most. Do you know how horrible that shit makes me feel? That you continually chose to be away from me on _purpose_!" Bri stood up from the floor and wiped at her eyes and shook her head. "What's wrong with me that you rather be on the road all the time? What have I fucking done to make you turn your back on me like that? Huh? I'm apparently missing something because I don't understand what I ever did to you!"

Juice stood up and placed his son in the bassinet beside the bed before walking back towards Bri and frowning. "Nothing is wrong with you! Don't you ever think that way Brianna, you're fucking perfect. I'm trying to be better for you, be someone that you deserve. I'm sorry for always leaving you and not being there when you needed me the most. I just suck at handling stress, I just fucking shut down."

"I just want you to understand that I love you for you… I don't care about anything else, I just need you to love me and want me. I need you to want to be around me and your son. I mean if not me at least him. I don't want you skipping out on your responsibility. He's been here for a fucking month almost and you've been gone for most of that time… How fucked up is that? I don't care if I sound like a bitch but I can't do this shit Juice. I can't let you keep taking off on runs and loving the club more than you love us. I refuse to be one of those women who stick around until it's too late to start over in life." She wiped her face on her shirt and sniffled. "I just want you to be around and love us, if you can't do that shit then you need to pack up and leave now."

"I don't expect you to be an old lady like that… I'm sorry Bri, I really am. I know I keep apologizing and fucking up but I really don't wanna lose you. That's why I proposed to you, it fucking killed me when I got your text that you wanted to call the engagement off. I don't want to lose you babe, I can't lose you or the kid. I'd go fucking insane." He pulled her to him and gave her a hug, slowly rubbing her back as he felt her tears on his chest. "I'll fix this shit Bri. I fucking promise you that much. If you still want a break and you still want the space, I'll give it to you but I still want to work on us. Even if that just means us going to see some marriage counselor or some shit."

"I want to punch you in your throat right now Juan." She moved away from him and crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "I had to call the engagement off, my husband to be who usually _always _has his phones charged, neglected to charge them and I couldn't reach him when I wanted to talk to him and tell him I missed him… That fucking pissed me off. Aleksandr has the ring, he's keeping it safe in case I lose my mind and try to flush the damn thing… I really wanted us to work out. We got this amazing second chance at creating something amazing and we fucking blew it."

"I get it. I fucked up. I should've been here for you. Like I said before, I'm not gonna stop trying to fix this mess I've made for us. Just tell me something, are you willing to work on it with me or am I just shit out of luck with you babe?" He cupped her face and smiled at her. "I just can't lose you again, I can't be without you or this family we have going."

"I'm willing to work on it but tell me something… Have you cheated on me Juan Carlos?" Bri eyed him carefully and frowned when he took a little too long to answer her. "You did, didn't you!?"

Juice grabbed her hands after she slapped him. "No, I never had sex. I didn't cheat on you Brianna… I did see an escort a few times but it was nothing physical… She's the one I dumped all my feelings on. You met her once, her name is Gigi." He dropped her hands. "I'm sorry Bri… I didn't think she'd stalk my life and start working at the club, I didn't expect her to be around anymore. I had told her I didn't wanna talk to her anymore."

She shook her head and backed away from him. "I wasn't good enough to talk to so you went out and paid a fucking escort… You're such a fucking idiot. I don't even wanna fucking look at you right now, get the fuck out of this room, this house. I don't care where you go, just fucking leave." She stepped forward and pushed him. "I fucking hate you so much right now." She sank to the floor and buried her face in the carpet as she started to sob uncontrollably, her body wracked with emotion.

He rubbed her back only to have his arm swatted away. "I'm sorry for all of this shit Bri… I hope you can forgive me one day and we can work shit out and be parents to Javier."

Bri gasped for a breath. "Just leave, please. I don't want to deal with this anymore today. I'm so fucking done with you and your selfish shit."

**SOA**

"I don't know what's worse, him sleeping with someone else or him spilling his guts to someone else." Bri looked at her younger sister as she entered the kitchen, Javier in her arms as he fed. "I hate this shit… I'm supposed to be happy and in love but instead I'm a single mom who's run the fuck down because my ex was a douchebag idiot."

"Good evening to you as well Brianna… Quite lovely to see my fully topless older sister feeding her child." Nik licked the peanut butter off the spoon before sticking it back in the jar and loading it up before patting it in sprinkles. "Did he sleep with someone else?"

"No, he didn't sleep with anyone else. He just told her all his problems. I should be the one he's confiding in." The brunette sighed as she sat down at the island and blinked at her younger sister. "Are you pregnant? Or have you just developed weird eating habits?"

The blonde shrugged. "So he dumped his shit on another person and you're jealous about it?" She looked down at the food and shrugged again. "Who even knows at this point? I may or may not be pregnant but that doesn't matter right now… I'll take a test before I go to bed."

"He was talking to some escort named Gigi! Who the fuck is named that and why would he pick her. I met her and she was nosey as fuck trying to get all in my business about him. I should have known that there was something more to her just being a goddamn bartender." Bri sighed. "Let me stop talking about this, I'm going to get upset even more…"

Nik nodded. "Don't get mad or anything but Gigi isn't around anymore. She's in a very nice burial plot in some random ass wooded area." She looked up at her sister and frowned. "I'm sorry Bri, I was going to tell you about Juice coming to me about handling the Gigi situation but you were still pregnant and I wanted to tell you sister to sister that I killed a girl that was trying to steal your boyfriend. Man, that hussy was _insane_."

Bri shook her head. "You knew and you didn't say shit to me… I feel so fucking embarrassed Nikola. I'm trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me that everyone I love doesn't love me back the same amount! You're over here killing some escort with Juice, I'm going to assume he was with you… I can't even deal right now… Just fucking get out of the kitchen. I need some space away from you as well." She watched her sister gather up her junk food before leaving the kitchen. "I think we need another vacation Javier."

* * *

**Yeah, sorry for all the dialogue but it was needed. Let me know what you thought.**


	43. Chapter 43 Angst II

**June 20, 2009**

Bri sighed as she watched the blood drip from her nose into the sink. She had no idea why she was all of a sudden getting nose bleeds. They were coming often and lasting quite a while. She reached out for a black towel, holding it to her face as she walked out of the bathroom at the sound of her son's cries. "I'm coming Javi." She did her best to pick him up while still holding the towel to her face. "I know I look funny, my nose is bleeding. _Again_. I guess we need to get you dressed and take me to the doctor or maybe have a doctor make a house call."

She sat down on her bed and adjusted her son. "You're hungry huh? You can help yourself while I see if Dr. Banks can't come by and check out my nose… He specializes in nose jobs so he has to know what could be wrong." She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the man's number, looking at her son as she waited for him to answer.

"_Bri, surprise to be getting a call from you."_ _He answered, his voice light and playful. "What's up?" _

"I wanted to see if you can come by the house and look at my nose… I keep getting nose bleeds and I wanna see if you can tell me what could be wrong before I go off and make an appointment for a specialist." She mumbled. "You can totally say no if you need to."

"_Nonsense, I'll be there soon. It's my day off." He replied. "Whatever you do, don't tilt your head back… I'll see you soon." _

"Hallelujah… It's good to have doctor friends." She laughed. "I'll see you soon." She ended the call and tossed the phone away before pulling the towel from her face and sighing. "At least it's stopped for the time being… I think you'll think Lucius is pretty cool."

"I came to check on you." Igor walked into the room and looked at Bri. "Another bloody nose? You should see a doctor."

"I have one coming over soon." The brunette shrugged. "I'm okay today besides another nosebleed. I'm pretty sure that it's related to me stressing out about working shit out with Juice… I've been avoiding him but he has come over a few times, dropped off things for Javi. Still haven't let him see Javi though… But, it's not entirely bad or awkward."

Igor nodded. "I've known you since you were in diapers. I've grown to love you and treat you as if you were my own daughter. It has been a pleasure to watch you grow up and face all these struggles. You've handled them quite beautifully even if you end up crying most often than not. I know it seems like this is the end of the world and that what Juice did was such a monstrosity that you can't ever forgive him but I think you should at least talk to him again. I've heard you speak of him from when you were younger. How you wished you'd cross paths with him again. I hope you two can work things out but if not, I hope you two can become friends for the sake of the child."

"It's always so weird to think that you've all known me basically since I was a babe." Bri smiled. "I love you Igor. You've gotten me out of so many situations over the years and I can't begin to thank you enough… I hear what you're saying though, I really want shit to work out with Juice, I want to love him, I want him to love me. I want to be in love. I know it sounds ridiculous but being in love and in a happy relationship is something I've wanted since I was younger. I _hope_ him and I can get our shit together if not for each other at least for Javi… The most important little boy in my life."

He nodded and stood up slowly. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call for me… I'm here to help you out while Aleksandr and Elijah are off tending to business." He pressed a kiss to her head and smiled. "I'll send the doctor up when he gets here."

**SOA**

"Bri." Lucius knocked on the bedroom door before smiling when the brunette waved him in. "How's the kid?" He moved closer, peering over the bassinet and smiling at the sleeping child. "Looks nothing like you."

The brunette nodded. "He's good, he's getting bigger every damn day… Thanks for coming, it means a lot. I don't know if you wanna do it in here or in my office where there's more lighting and no risk of waking up Javier."

"Office." He nodded and followed her out of the bedroom and down the stairs before turning into an all white room with floor to ceiling windows on one side. "This is exactly how I pictured your office would be." He moved toward the glass desk and set his bag down.

"Glad I'm predictable." Bri hopped onto the desk and smiled. "Ever since Juice and I broke up I've been getting these mean ass nose bleeds. They come often and seem to last about five to fifteen minutes. I don't wanna think it's anything more than an overly dry nose and stress… I did just come from Russia as well."

Lucius pulled on his gloves and nodded again. "Sorry to hear about you and Juice… Russia? How was that?" He turned on his light and tilted her head back to look into her nose. "Lots of inflammation. I think you just have a bad infection. I can prescribe you an ointment, it'll be safe to use if you're still breastfeeding. It'll soothe the inflammation, help with any dryness."

"Yeah, me too. Yup, went home for a few days. It was a nice time." She smiled and nodded. "That sounds good to me. I'll happily take the prescription. If the nosebleeds are super serious, should I actually go to an ENT?"

"If they don't stop when you're relaxed and a week into using the ointment, I would say see an ENT. I can recommend you to a colleague of mine, get you in quickly." He pulled off his gloves and tossed them into the trash can.

"Sounds good." Bri nodded and moved off of the desk. "How much do I owe you for making this amazing house call?"

"Nothing." He laughed. "It was a favor for a friend in need… Plus, I've been wanting to see how you were doing. It's not too often that one of my best colleagues becomes a mom and puts her career aside."

"It sucks ass. I miss being in surgery and making people prettier and fixing things that they want fixed." She groaned. "I'm trying to stay sane and remind myself that I can do work when Javi is older. It's not the end of the world to be a mom to such a wonderful baby boy."

"Well, when you do want to get back into the swing of things, even if it is just for an afternoon, you're more than welcome to come and hang out and help me with surgery. My nurse Natalie was asking about you the other day." Lucius smiled as he passed the brunette a prescription.

"I'll take you up on that offer." Bri smiled and looked down at the paper. "Oh, tell Natalie to call me or whatever… I could always use a friend to hang out with."

"Alright. I have to get going." He lifted his bag. "Take care Bri, I hope things work out with you and Juice."

**June 24, 2009 **

Bri looked down at the paperwork and sighed. "My house is worth nearly ten million, that's nearly triple what I actually paid for it." She looked up at Aleksandr, Frey, Igor and Elijah. "I can't sell this place. It's _our_ home. We've been here how long? This was my first actual home when I came to Cali."

Elijah smiled at the brunette. "Never will there be another place that holds so many warm memories and love."

"Couldn't have said that shit better myself." She smiled. "We're keeping our home. Although, I do wanna start construction on a another guest house, one that's towards the end of the property line but won't disturb my garden or the current structures out back. I think that's what I'm going to do in my time when Javi is sleeping and Monica is at school. She starts back up in August and I'm super sad about that."

Aleksandr nodded. "We can make that happen… I'll start calling contractors."

"No, no. I wanna handle it all. I can find the architect and the contractors. This is my project and I want to be involved with every step and learn how to do it all myself. I want it to be amazing and windows and modern. I want it to be able to accommodate Monica when she's older and wants to move out but can only afford to go live in the guest house." She shrugged. "If I need help, I'll ask you guys."

Igor smacked the counter and smiled. "The girl is independent! We did a good job brothers. We raised her right." He winked at her. "Bout time you take something into your own hands and lead like the leader you are."

Bri nodded. "It feels really good, Igor. I want you three to let me start handling more shit. I'm capable and if not, I'll let you know. This family meeting is dismissed. Go drink all the import beers! I don't want any more alcohol in the kitchen, keep it in the garage fridge."

**SOA**

Bri sat up in bed at the sound of the doorbell ringing, she looked at the clock and groaned. _3:21 AM._ She pulled a shirt on and moved out of the room slowly, trying to figure out who could be at her door at this time of night. "I'm coming! Stop that shit!" She yelled before looking at the monitor and rolling her eyes as she unlocked the door and pulled it open. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Juice swayed back and forth, trying to steady himself enough to walk forward into the house. Unfortunately, he was seeing doubles of the gorgeous woman in front of him. "Hey baby." He stumbled forward, wrapping his arms around her waist to steady himself. "I miss you so much Bri… I have been going insane without you and baby Javi."

The brunette rolled her eyes and looked at the drunken mess. "You know you shouldn't be here Juice… Especially this early in the morning."

"I know but baby, I just needed to see you and maybe see him too." He looked at her and flashed a drunken smile. "I walked all the way here to see you… Please don't make me leave. You said before that you're a sucker for a drunk and angst ridden Juice… Here I am baby, love me please?"

Bri sighed and swung the door shut and locked it. "You're so lucky I love you…" She grabbed his hand and lead him up the stairs. "You need to sleep this off, hopefully you won't be too hungover in the morning." She pushed him into her bedroom and onto the bed before pulling his boots off his feet and tossing him towards the sitting area. "You need a lot of sleep."

Juice snuggled into the the bed and held a hand out. "Come cuddle with me please? I want to cuddle with you, I need you Bri. So much." He felt her fingers lace through his, before the mattress dipped slightly. "I want to work things out. I'm so fucking sorry I was a pussy and didn't tell you how much shit I'm in with the club… It's horrible Bri, so so terrible. I didn't want you to know how much trouble I was in so I kept staying away."

She looked at him before nodding. "Go to sleep, we'll talk about this later today… No more drunken rambles Juice."

"I love you baby, so so much. I never wanna disappoint you ever again." He yawned and ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I'm gonna be so amazing to you, I'm never gonna mess up again. I just hope you agree to working on shit still. I love you, you're my life and my heart."

Bri smiled before settling into bed. "I love you too and I do wanna work shit out. As I said a few seconds ago. Let's keep this talk for later. I don't wanna talk right now, you're drunk and I need sleep. Javi will be up in three hours or so… Goodnight Juice." She rolled her eyes as she heard him begin to snore. "Of course you fall asleep while we're having a drunken conversation." She smiled and shook her head.


	44. Chapter 44 Kiss

**June 25, 2009**

"You've been asleep nearly ten hours." Bri crossed her arms and looked at Juice who was starting to sit up in bed, a pained expression on his face. "Regretting drinking huh? Do you even remember showing up here?"

He nodded. "I remember it a little bit. You told me we would talk… You still wanna talk babe?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, I still wanna talk. I just need to handle some things first. I need to get the baby fed and settled down for his first of many naps. I'll find you when I'm finished. There's food down in the kitchen."

"I can do that for you." Juice looked at her. "Feed him and put him down for his nap."

Bri shook her head. "I got it this time, you can take care of him when he wakes up from the nap… I'll meet you down in the kitchen though in about thirty minutes or so."

He watched her move out of the room before slowly getting out of bed and walking into the bathroom. Splashing water on his face before staring at his reflection intently, noting the bags under his eyes and the sorrow in his eyes. "Gotta win her back…" He patted his face dry with a fluffy black towel before hanging it back up and walking out and to the closet. Expecting his clothes to be gone, instead everything was still where he had left it. He pulled on fresh sweats before moving out of the room and down the stairs, strolling into the kitchen to find Bri sitting on the island. "Thought it was gonna take thirty minutes?"

She shrugged. "He was still asleep when I checked on him. Figured you'd need the full allotted time to shower and get dressed. Maybe pop some aspirin." She pushed the water and bottle of pills towards him and smiled.

"That's good." He uncapped the water before moving to the pills, pouring four into his palm before downing them with half of the water. "So, we're going to have another serious talk about us, right now?"

Bri nodded her head slowly as she tossed her empty bottle into the trash can. "Yup, we're going to have another serious talk with each other about us because we really need to figure out what exactly is going on with us before we even move on to what we need to do for Javi."

Juice nodded. "I miss you, I love you, I just want us to be together again. We don't have to go back to being engaged, hell we don't even have to be engaged if it's something you're uncomfortable with. I fucked up and I get that shit. I should have just told you everything as it was happening instead of seeking someone else to talk to about it all. I'm sorry Brianna, I really fucking am. I get if you don't want to forgive me. I'll understand it if you don't wanna be with me anymore. I just need you to know that it'll all fucking suck not having you as my love anymore."

"I miss you and you know damn well that I love you Juan." The brunette sighed and looked at the handsome man in front of her. "I just don't want to be continually fucked over like I've been in the last three relationships. Like jesus, I've only been in three and one of 'em was arranged. I don't want to be that girl anymore. I want to be loved and treated like a goddamn Queen. I don't want you half assing this relationship, I don't want us to be engaged if we can't even communicate properly with each other. That's not a fucking relationship."

"I want to treat you like the Queen that you are. I just fucked it up. I don't want it to be how it was before. I don't want to make you cry anymore unless it's because I'm tickling you or we're just having so much fun you laugh so hard you start crying… I just want us to be happy together and in love. I don't want to continue the pattern. I promise, my word is going to be fucking solid this time. No more bullshit, no more hiding shit from you. We can work this shit out, I don't even care if you wanna drag my ass to therapy. I need you babe, I fucking want you in my life and at my side. I'm willing to do anything and everything I have to to make it happen." He smiled and laced his fingers through hers and rubbed over her knuckles. "So, are you willing to give me yet another try?"

"Yeah, I'm willing to give you another try. I forgive you for the bullshit and I hope we won't ever be having to go through these conversations again. As always, I forgive but I do not ever forget. So, next time you fuck up, no matter how minor it may seem to you, it'll be the end of us. You got that shit Juan Carlos?"

Juice nodded enthusiastically and smiled. "Yeah, I got it. I won't fuck up anymore." He grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him, wrapping her in a hug as he rested his head on her chest and sighed. "I am so fucking happy… The last week or so has been so damn bad for me. Staying at the clubhouse isn't fun at all for me anymore."

"Oh, just so you know. We're so not in a relationship, we're just simply working on shit to get back to the point of being in one again." Bri kissed his forehead and smiled as their son's cries start to flow through the speaker of the baby monitor. "Well, daddy. You're up on Javi duty this time. I hope you remember how to change a diaper."

"I remember how to change one, it hasn't been that long." He pulled her off the counter and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm taking you with me, you're the primary food source unless he started taking bottles."

The brunette shook her head, taking note of the way he disregarded her first statement completely. "He's still feeding right from the source. I tried him with a bottle and he absolutely hated the damn thing."

Juice pulled her into the nursery and towards the crib. "Hey Javi, daddy is here to change you." He lifted the alert child from the crib and smiled down at him as he moved towards the changing table. "We're gonna change you, then feed you, burp you and maybe cuddle in bed together with you. Man, I fucking missed you kid."

Bri smiled, watching as Javi latched onto Juice's fingers and didn't wanna let go. "He _loves_ hands… I guess he loves yours the best, never seen him hold both hands before." She sat down in the glider and started to slowly rock back and forth as she watched Juice with the child. "Don't put any clothes on him until after he burps… He's been spitting up sometimes, gets all over him and all over me. I don't mind cleaning myself up but we're going through his outfits at rapid pace."

He nodded and held up Javier. "He's so fucking huge. I swear to fucking God." He poked at the child's stomach and smiled as Javier smiled. "Gotta love that toothless smirk he has."

"My chunky little baby." She laughed. "He's perfect, I love his tummy and his legs, they're perfect. The guys think he's gonna be tall."

"He better be tall… I'm tall, you're tall." Juice watched Bri adjust her son on her chest before relaxing in the glider next to her. "I'm excited to see just how he's gonna be personality wise. He seems like he's gonna be quiet. More quiet than the both of us."

She nodded. "He's gonna be tall." She looked down. "Hopefully he'll be slim but I wouldn't even be mad if he were chunky as hell for the first four years of his life."

"Why just the first four?" He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Because by five he'll be in school and you know how kids are. They're gonna pick on the chubby kid. That will never change and I'm telling you know, I will beat a kid's ass for talking shit about either of my kids… I think I proved that with Monica's little situation. Given I beat the mom's ass and not the actual kid but still. I think the point was made. Don't fuck with my loves and I won't break your face." Bri smiled. "Mommy protects the ones she loves at any and all costs Javi, remember that."

Juice shook his head. "I didn't know you beat someone's mom up… I just thought you roughed up the principal of the school…"

She shrugged. "It happened outside of school… The bitch came up to me running her mouth. It wasn't good." She fixed her shirt and passed the baby to Juice. "He's all yours… I'll be doing laundry and cleaning up the kitchen if you need me."

"I thought you had Ingrid to do all of that for you?" He stared at her as he accepted a birth cloth.

"I _had_ her for that." Bri stood up and smiled. "I'm trying to be independent and do more shit for myself. I let Ingrid retire, set her up with a nice pension pack… She went back to Russia to take care of her own family. She was so excited, you should have seen the smile on her face. She's going back to do for her grandkids what she did for me."

Juice nodded and smiled, watching the brunette leave the room. "I guess your mom is really growing up and accepting all the changes of being a stay at home mom. I'm proud of her Javi, so proud."

**July 1, 2009**

"Elijah." Bri walked into the bedroom and flipped on the light, hoping it would wake him up and let him know she needed to talk. "Elijah!" She poked at the man's head and sighed. "'Lijah!"

"I'm up!" He sprang up and looked at the brunette. "What're you doing in here? Is there something wrong?"

"I needed to talk to someone and Aleksandr and Igor are gone…" She looked at him. "It's about my relationship with Juice."

Elijah nodded and patted the bed. "Sit down, let me hear about this new development."

"We're not back together but we're working on getting back to that point… So I'm single but it doesn't really feel like I am because we're still in the same house and in the same room." She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed again. "I'm excited to be working things out but another part of me is thinking that maybe I shouldn't be so quick to work on getting back together with him. That I should focus on being a mom, then maybe date around for a bit before committing again."

He shook his head. "You're in love with him… It's only normal for you to be excited about the aspect of working it all out and being solid with him again."

Bri nodded and stared at the man. "What if we get back together and it ends up not working again? I don't think I could handle that shit again Elijah."

He nodded before pulling the brunette closer to him. "It's a risk you have to be willing to take. If you're in love, then you go into the relationship and make it work."

"Yeah I know… I always take risks and I always end up being fucked over. I just want some type of sign to know that, Juice is endgame and that it'll all work out for the best." She frowned.

Elijah stared at her before pulling her even closer and capturing her lips in a kiss, his hands landing on her hips as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. "That the sign you were looking for?" He pulled away and smirked at her.

Bri chuckled and smacked Elijah's shoulder. "I've been waiting forever to kiss you! You have the most horrific timing Elijah…" She poked at his shoulders. "Save that tongue action for Jacey… You like her not me."

"Yeah, I know." He shrugged. "But I gave you the sign you needed… You didn't kiss me back, means you don't want anyone else but that idiot upstairs. Stop overthinking shit Brianna, just do what feels right and you'll be good. I promise you that much."

She nodded. "I can't believe you fucking kissed me. You're such an asshole." She moved his hands off of her hips. "Wait, you wanna get it in really fast? I am all clear and ready to go. It can be a fun pity fuck…"

Elijah paused and stared at her for a moment, thinking over the offer. "No, I don't think that's the best idea… You can go get a pity fuck from Juice."

She laughed. "Oh, fuck that. I think I'm gonna go see if Jacey and Happy are down for a roll in the hay! I am so for turning the joke about a threesome into a reality." She smirked before moving off of the bed. "Man, all I'm gonna think about when I see you is that fucking kiss. Thanks Elijah!" She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Gonna go raid the kitchen for a snack."

**SOA**

"HOLY SHIT!" Bri screamed as she walked into the garage. "The fuck is this shit?" She pointed to the black car sitting in her car's usual spot. "I don't remember buying that, I don't remember signing off on a purchase. What is it and is it for _me_?"

Frey shrugged and eyed the scantily clad brunette. "Why are you never dressed? Why is your body looking like that after having a baby like a month ago?"

"Don't answer my questions with questions about me." She crossed her arms and smiled. "Come on Viking! Who's it for? Come on! Is it mine? Where's my car then? Huh? Where is my Audi?"

"I stole it." He shrugged again. "This guy was being an asshat about my muscle car so I waited until he went into the store and I stole his car and brought it here… Don't worry I disabled all the systems, no way he can track it here."

"Oh, okay. Way to use my fucking garage as a chop shop." Bri smacked him. "Get it chopped and get it out of here… I want my Audi back in here. You know how I am about that car. It has to be in the garage while I'm driving the SUV." She pointed at him before shaking her head. "I don't know what to do with you. Do you know if Igor is home?"

"He's out back in the garden… He is planting new flowers. I thought you had a gardener to plant stuff." The Viking shook his head.

"No, I don't have a gardener… I planted that garden myself. Every inch of it, the design, the flowers." She rolled her eyes. "Stop assuming I have someone who does everything for me! What are y'all gonna ask me about next? If I have someone who wipes my ass for me? Nope! Encourage my independence don't assume I'm _that_ spoiled." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and moved back out of the garage and out the back door towards the garden. "Igor! My love! Where are you!?"

"I'm here, just planting flowers." Igor looked up as the brunette walked further into the garden. "They look good with the roses."

Bri nodded and sat down on the grass. "They're gorgeous… I love the color." She smiled and reached out to touch the flowers. "We needed more dark purple in here. I want to ask you something serious. You can decline if you want to but I hope you don't."

He paused his work and looked at her. "What is it? Do you need to leave again?"

She shook her head. "No… I don't need to leave again. I was wondering if you would be open to being Javier's godfather. You've been around a lot and I don't know who'd be better to ask but you. I know you're going to be the one watching out for him his whole life, so if something ever happens to myself or Juice I want you to be the one who takes over and raises him."

Igor nodded and smiled. "I would love to be his godfather… I thought you would've have asked Elijah or Frey, maybe even Happy."

Bri smiled. "Nope. I only ever had you in mind. You've been good to the two of us. I love Elijah and Frey but you've been around Javi way more than they have. Hell when we were in Russia you'd beat me to him when he'd start fussing. I couldn't have picked out a better person."

"I will do right by you and the child. I love him, he's my little partner. He's the best TV buddy I could ask for. He's quiet too, it's a miracle because you cried all the damn time when you were his age. " Igor hugged the brunette. "Thank you for this. I will play a part in his life just as I did in yours and your siblings until they didn't want me around anymore."

"No, thank you for _this_. You were always my favorite, I'd go running to you when Aleksandr got upset with me or when my dad would yell at me… You're amazing Igor. I'm glad to have you in my life and my children's lives." Bri grinned and stood up. "I'll be setting up the whole ceremony. You're gonna be his godfather and Jacey is his godmother… You two are friends so I know it'll be easy for you two to work together if need be." She nodded her head and looked at him. "I hope this ceremony goes off without a hitch."

* * *

**Thanks to people who read and review. I'm thinking about making a sequel to the story. I'll just have to see how the last few chapters do before I go on with it. Can't continue a series without having a lot of support for it. So let me know yeah? **


	45. Chapter 45 Dork

**July 7, 2009**

Juice looked down at his son and shook his head slowly. The baby boy was dressed in head to toe white, in some tux that Bri has stuffed him into. "I don't like you in white kid… Let's save that for your mom yeah? I think you could have gotten away with wearing a little bit of black. Maybe a black tie."

"He can't wear black. He's pure and is being baptised." Bri shook her head. "I mean he could wear black but it's not traditional and this is the only religious thing that I still care to keep up. Him being baptised and his godparents being named. They'll be up there with us." She looked at Javi and smiled. "My chunky man looks absolutely handsome."

"Thanks but I'm not chunky." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "We're going to leave in like fifteen minutes. I expect you to have him strapped into the seat and your ass in the driver's seat by then… Not just walking out of the house in fifteen minutes but in the car. I'm gonna go grab Moni and make sure she's in her outfit and not in a damn tutu."

Juice nodded. "I'll head down with him now."

Bri nodded and walked out off the room, heading towards Monica's room, only to bump into Elijah. "Hey."

Elijah looked down as Juice descended the stairs. "Hey." He looked back up, his eyes slowly scanning the brunette. "You ready for the ceremony?"

She smiled. "Are you eye fucking me right now?" She chuckled as Elijah's face turned a bright red. "I know I look good but damn E, save it for private."

He adjusted his tie and shook his head. "You're something else Bri… You should go see how Monica is dressed. I'm heading downstairs."

"Oh lord." Bri grabbed him and tugged him towards her daughter's room. "You're gonna help me hold her down and get her into the right outfit if she's in something outrageous."

Elijah nodded and looked at the six year old splayed out on the floor. "She's not even close to being ready in fifteen minutes."

"Monica! Elizaveta! Hohrykova! If you don't stand up right now and put on your dress then we're going to have some serious issues!" The brunette crossed her arms and watched her daughter slowly start to stand up. "What's wrong baby? I thought you would want to wear the dress…"

Monica sighed and pulled on the ends of her hair, a habit that she picked up from her mom. "I don't wanna go to Javi's stupid party. I don't remember getting one of them! I don't have any godparents! Where are mine at? Huh mommy!?"

Bri nodded and pulled the girl into a hug. "Your party is next baby, I didn't forget out you. We wanna save the best one for last. Got me? I picked out your godparents, you'll get your party too. I promise." She kissed her and smiled. "Now, put on the dress and let's get going."

"Really?" The tiny brunette looked up at her mom and smiled. "Who are my godparents?"

"I can't tell you until the day of." Bri zipped her daughter into the dress and smiled. "You look gorgeous, now grab your flower crown and head downstairs to the car." She sighed and looked at Elijah. "Don't laugh! I had to tell her that."

Elijah nodded. "You better hope you can get her party together. I'll be expecting an invite." He smirked at her before directing her towards the door. "Let's go, we cannot be late for this ceremony. The Catholic church doesn't like tardiness."

**SOA**

"Look at him, he's all baptised and pure." Igor held his godson in his arms and smiled. "I'm still surprised he didn't cry when the guy dumped the water on his head. Don't babies usually cry at shit like that?"

Bri shrugged. "I have no damn clue to be honest… I thought he was going to cry but I'm proud that he didn't. He's my strong little man, huh Juice?" She poked him in the side.

Juice nodded. "He's going to be in good hands if by any chance we both die." He groaned and moved slightly away from the brunette before reaching out and tugging her with him. "How much trouble would we get in if we snuck off and fucked in the bathroom?"

"I'm not having sex with you in a church bathroom." She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "I cannot believe you just suggested that shit."

"Oh come on." He walked them out of the church and wrapped his arms around her. "It's not outrageous… We've had fun in some unique places before." He kissed the side of her neck as he rubbed his hands over her hips. "I want you."

Bri nodded and settled into his embrace. "I want you too but I'm not having sex in the church our son was just baptised in."

Juice smirked. "We're not inside anymore…"

"Wait until we get home." She turned around and smirked at him. "You can wait that long right?"

"I can wait." He smiled and nodded. "Let's wrap it up… I wanna have some adult fun with your pretty ass."

Bri rolled her eyes. "You're terrible.. Absolutely terrible. I can't even deal with you right now babe." She grabbed his hands and smiled. "Don't rush people off, they're still gonna come back to the house for a little party and to socialize."

"I don't mind sneaking off… We can leave Javi in the care of his new godparents." Juice kissed her and smiled. "Let's get this party started!"

"You can't talk that loud in a church." The brunette pinched him and shook her head. "Let's be adults about this. Take lots of pictures and then we can head out after saying goodbye to the people who aren't coming back to the house."

"It was a good ceremony." Elijah looked at Bri as he held Javier to his chest. "He likes water, that's for sure."

Bri smiled. "Yes, my chunky baby loves water." She accepted the child and grinned at him. "I love you my darling… I'm glad one of us is free of sin."

"Lemme hold him." Juice opened and closed his hands until she passed him the baby. "This is my boy… Your mommy changed you from a horrible white suit to a horrible all white onesie. It's terrible."

**SOA**

"That was needed." Juice smiled up at Bri who was still on top him. "I missed that."

Bri nodded and rolled off of him. "You went a little easy on me… You know you're not going to break me. I'm all sturdy and healed up. Nothing can go wrong."

He nodded as he stood up and moved towards the bathroom, flushing the used condom. "At least we're being safe about it…" He crawled back onto the bed and rested his head on her stomach and smiled. "I miss just being able to goof off with you and enjoy having down time. I'm glad I'm working shit out with you babe."

"I miss sitting on the rooftop during summer when the sun is setting." She sighed. "That was always relaxing. I also enjoyed eating donuts on the trunk of that police cruiser that always seemed to be parked at the donut shop but the cop was never around."

"The red velvet donuts from up the street are pretty damn good." Juice rolled away from her and grabbed her ankles. "Let's go get some!"

Bri shook her head. "No! I don't want any donuts from up the street… I just wanna lay here and be cuddly with you but if you wanna go get donuts for yourself. I'm not stopping you at all."

"I'll cuddle with you." He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and he buried his face in her damp hair. "You're all sweaty and gross babe!" He laughed and pushed away from her. "You need a shower."

The brunette laughed and rolled off the bed. "You're a jerk! I am not gross. We've spent the last four hours fucking and laughing." She started towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower and you're not allowed to join me."

"Hey!" Juice jumped off the bed and started after her. "I wanna join! I'm all sweaty and gross too!" He moved into the shower and pulled her in with him as he turned the water on, glad that the temperature was already perfect. "You wash my hair and I'll wash yours!"

Bri grabbed the shampoo and squirted on Juice's strip of hair and lathered it up. "Your hair is going to be so soft and smell like honey and lemons… It's a good smell for you babe." She directed his head under the shower head and watched his hair rinse clean. "Mmm, you smell better already." She laughed.

He chuckled and started in on her hair, massaging the soap in softly. He couldn't help but smile as she relaxed and her eyes closed. "Someone likes getting a head massage."

"It feels really good." She sighed and opened her eyes. "Are you seriously washing my hair with body wash!?" She grabbed the bottle from his hands and shook her head. "Babe! You're a fuckin' dork!"

"I thought it was shampoo!" He laughed and set the bottle back on the shelf before grabbing the correct bottle. "Second try." He squirted a generous amount on the top of her head before letting the bottle slip to the floor as he hurried to work the liquid into her hair. "You're gonna smell like, lemon, honey, cucumbers and melon!"

Bri groaned. "You're fucking up my tresses Ortiz… I need you to get with the fucking program and cherish the locks not ruin them." She smiled and kissed his chin. "You're a nerd, I love how everything small makes you the most happy."

"I'm happy that I'm with you… Even if it just means I'm washing your hair with body wash and shampoo… We're not conventional so it works out." He turned her around and watched the water rinse the soap and shampoo from her hair. "You look good, you don't smell gross anymore and we haven't even got to the whole body wash on the body yet…"

"No, no." She shook her head. "You wash your body and I'll wash mine… Your hands cannot be trusted at all."

He reached out and squirted the body wash on her and smirked. "You're good… You're gonna be all squeaky clean babe." Juice grabbed the loofa from it's hook and started rubbing it over her stomach. "I promise I won't be too handsy."

"Fuck." Bri mumbled as she heard Javi's cries over the monitor. "You gonna grab him? Hurry, I don't want him to be crying for too long and hurt his throat."

Juice nodded and quickly rinsed off before stepping out of the shower and wrapping himself in a towel before moving through the room he shared with Bri. "I'm coming Javi!" He exited the room and went straight to Javi's bedroom and picked him up from the crib. "I'm all wet, I just had a shower with your mommy… You hungry? Let's go see if she's out and ready to feed you."

"I'm out." Bri tightened her robe before sitting down on the bed. "It was quick once you weren't in there to fool around with."

"I'm still fascinated about this whole breastfeeding thing." He passed Javi to the brunette and sat down beside her. "Like, does it feel weird when he latches on and tries to suck you dry?"

"No, it doesn't feel weird. It feels like he's gumming my nipple… It's different from when you suck on it." She shrugged. "Why? Are you trying to let me know you want an adult nursing relationship? I seen that kink on some documentary on TV late at night… It was interesting to say the least. Like these grown ass men in diapers drinking breastmilk."

Juice laughed. "I took some pills Tig gave me once and woke up in a diaper in town." He shook his head. "It was a unique experience."

"I don't even want to picture that." She shook her head. "I mean, I have the picture in my head but I didn't want it there." She laughed and switched Javi to the other side. "I do think that we need to bug Jacey one day and see if she'll take our family pictures. We're a gorgeous ass family. I'm talking _all_ of us. You, Javi, Moni, Elijah, Igor, Aleksandr, Frey… Just _everyone_ in a dope ass family photo."

"Speaking of family… Have you talked to Nik? I know she's been staying away but you can't just keep ignoring her when it was my fault she was pulled into the situation… She was just doing what she thought would be best for you." Juice looked at the brunette. "Please, just forgive her and hug it out. I know she misses you and you miss her."

Bri nodded, her mind wandering to her little sister Nik and the last time they spoke. She had been a bit over dramatic and unreasonable by turning her sister away. "I'm thinking about reaching out to her, see if we can sit down and talk everything out. I miss her too. She's my little baby and I really love her and want her around, especially since she's so good with Javier." She sighed and relaxed into the pillows behind her. "I'm going to fix shit with her, I refuse to let this shit get between her and I. I owe it to her to apologize and explain to her why I lashed out." She gave Juice a kiss and smiled. "We're gonna be one big happy family again."

* * *

**AN: So, after thinking it over then going to look at the stats for this story, I'm sorry but I can't write a sequel. It wouldn't be fair to myself to put forth so much time and work for another story that is failing in my eyes. This is going to be the only story for Juice &amp; Bri. I'm sorry to the loyal readers but unless something drastic happens and the stats get better before we hit chapter 50, then I may go ahead and work on the sequel. Anyways, as always thanks to those who left reviews, it was appreciated.**


	46. Chapter 46 Engagement

**July 11, 2009**

"One minute!" Bri yelled as she rushed towards the front door, tying up her hair in the process. "I'm here! I'm here!" She quickly unlocked the door and smiled as her sister Nik looked back at her. Her blue eyes wide and bright. "Thanks for coming over… Although you're about six hours early. I have company."

Nik shrugged. "Jacey isn't company."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about Jacey… I have a work friend over, her name is Natalie. We are hanging out and playing with Javi"

The blonde nodded and followed after her sister. "Oh, well. Where's Moni? I'll hang out with her until Natalie leaves."

Bri turned around. "She's over with Happy and Jacey… Come on, we can talk while Natalie plays with Javi." She tugged her sister into the kitchen and lifted herself up onto the counter. "So, I want to apologize… I overreacted. I was pissed off at Juice and you were the first person I saw and you just got the bunt of my wrath. It wasn't your fault, it was mine and I'm sorry for getting pissed off that you helped him with the Gigi thing."

Nik smiled. "I forgive you. I honestly was doing what I thought would spare your feelings. I'm sorry too Bri." She hugged her sister's waist and chuckled. "You need to get rid of Natalie because I don't wanna share you with any new friends. I already share you enough with Svet and Jacey! Breezy Bri! I need you to send her home or some shit. I hate her already, she's probably pretty and blonde."

"She is pretty and blonde." The brunette laughed and slid off the counter. "I forgive you though too Nik Nik." She pressed a kiss to her sister's forehead. "Let's go introduce you to Natalie, don't be mean to her. I swear if you're mean, I will hurt you."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to think you have a thing for blondes…"

Bri shrugged as they walked outside. "I do… I really do." She laughed as she pulled her sister towards Natalie and Javier. "Natalie, this is my sister Nik, Nik this is my new friend Natalie. She's Dr. Banks' nurse."

Natalie smiled at the blonde. "It's nice to meet you Nik."

Nik nodded, finally realizing why Natalie was even being pulled into the inner circle. The bitch had an accent, one that she heard nearly all the time when her sister spoke. "You're Russian?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah I am."

"Figures." Nik shrugged and sat down at the table, holding her arms out. "I wanna see my nephew _please_…" She smiled as Natalie obliged the request quickly. "Littlest J, I missed you so much… You got chunkier huh?"

Bri let out a breath and sat down. "You missed his christening Nik." She eyed her sister who looked at her for a moment and nodded. "Busy working?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I wanted to be there but I got called out of town for work, so I couldn't make it. I'll make it to the next big event though… He's bound to have a bash for his first birthday. Isn't that right my love? You're gonna have a big ass first birthday and we're gonna eat cake and flirt with pretty girls."

"I think you're confusing first with twenty first!" Bri glared at her sister. "He's not allowed to flirt until he's older than one."

Nik shrugged. "He looks old enough to flirt. May take him out to the mall and pick up chicks with him… Auntie and Javi bonding time."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I don't think so Nikola… I want him to flirt with Cam first then if that doesn't work he can move on to someone else. He's not about to be your chick magnet either. I don't think you need help in that department anyway."

"Who's Cam?" Natalie finally spoke up as she set her phone on the table.

"Cam is my best friend's daughter… Javi and Cam are best friends and hopefully they'll fall in love but if not, then that's okay too." Bri shrugged as she looked towards the house, seeing Svetlana standing in the open doorway. "I'll be right back, seems everyone is stopping by early today."

Svetlana smiled as Bri walked over to her before pulling her into a tight hug. "Kitty Kat, I missed you so much!"

Bri hugged her back as they walked into the house, closing the french doors behind them. "Where the fuck have you been? You just up and disappeared on me!"

The brunette nodded and frowned. "I had to handle some family shit… You know how us Putlovas are. We stay in trouble at all times. I needed to get Viktor some help, some of his guys were up in Stockton."

She nodded, pretending to have some idea of what her best friend was talking about. "Alright, so you're squared away with the family shit? You handled it, right?"

Svet shrugged. "I handled it to the best of my ability but I need to tell you something…"

"Uh oh." Bri sighed as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "What dumb ass idea are you currently thinking about doing now? Huh?"

She sighed. "I called in backup for Viktor… He needs help out here and I obliged. I'm sorry Bri but I had no idea they were gonna try to start some shit that'd involve the Sons of Anarchy. Never thought they would. I promise."

Bri nodded her head slowly before pushing away from the corner. "I think you should leave Svetlana… How many times have I told you not to get involved with a man's problem without knowing the whole damn story? Leave, I need to figure out how to clean up your problem."

Svetlana frowned. "Come on Bri! The Sons handle problems with outside groups all the time. This isn't any different!"

The brunette shrugged. "I know but I don't really care if it's what they're used to. I didn't know them back then. I know them now and I don't want anything happening to them. Go fix your problem Svetlana. I'm done talking with you. Go right your wrong, go cancel your little plan… I don't know go do something."

**SOA**

"Aleksandr, Elijah, Frey, my baby love Igor." Bri smiled at the four men standing in the middle of the garden with her. "I know this is a very unusual meeting spot but we're by no means usual people. I talked to Svetlana today for the first time in a long time. She told me something alarming; Viktor reached out for reinforcements and she gave them to him. She handed him a small army who is probably already stateside. We know Putlov is a very big boss and we also have no idea if he'll act now or two years from now but I do want us to proceed with the utmost caution."

Aleksandr shook his head and frowned. "She has no idea what she's done. We've worked so hard to keep the Russians from coming stateside. There were enough as is without her adding to the count. We will handle Viktor. We'll sit down and tell him he needs to run any type of attack by you before he does anything."

Bri shrugged. "I don't want to be involved with that shit. I have two kids to keep safe. I don't need this shit landing on my doorstep. I want it solved quickly. I want it solved using whatever means you four see fit. I don't know why she got involved with a man's problem but she was stupid for doing so. I don't go sticking my neck out for no man, I don't go sticking my nose in any man's business either. I only get involved when I have to and up until now I haven't had to do a damn thing. I suggest you four handle it and get back to me. Got it?"

Elijah nodded and smirked. "We'll handle it, easy and clean." He turned from the brunette as Aleksandr, Frey and Igor started to walk off. "Get some sleep Brianna."

"I don't know, I have some special idea for you Elijah." She moved towards him and stopped him by his arm. "It'll be so much fun."

He paused and slowly turned around before glancing back and making sure the guys were completely inside of the house. "What's up now?"

Bri shrugged. "I need you to do this crazy insane favor for me Elijah. You can sleep on it and think it over and I'll talk to Juice about it but I think it's time for me to get rid of our family problem now."

Elijah looked at her, worry forming in his stomach. "You just said you were going to stay out of men problems."

"Yeah but this isn't a man problem. Viktor is a man problem, this is a family problem and I want to handle it. I want to make this call. I don't care what I have to do. I don't even care if I have to get down and dirty like Nik. I want this problem solved. I want to have a big enough party that every leader will want to attend." She tugged on her shirt and sighed. "I need you to pretend to be engaged to me."

"Excuse me?" He gaped at the young woman. "You want me to do what now?"

"I want us to fake an engagement, send out announcements and strike when the party is happening. No guns or shit like that. I'm talking tactical, a simple dose of some type of poison that I haven't figured out exactly. I was reading something and I want it to be like the guys just drop and their seconds don't even know what to fuck to do but by the time they realize what actually happened it'll be too late." Bri shrugged. "Come on Elijah, if I announce my marriage to Juice they won't come but if I announce a fake one to you, they'll take it seriously and come to the party."

Elijah shook his head. "I don't even know where you get these ideas from but I'll sleep on this. Talk to Juice, he has to be on board about this little plan which I don't think will work to be honest."

"It'll work." She smiled and hugged the man "I swear you're the best."

"Why didn't you ask Igor or Frey?" He asked as she moved away from him. "Why me?"

Bri smiled. "Because you're the one they'd expect me to marry… They don't want me with a Viking and Igor is a little bit of a father figure. You came in late and you are way more of a protector than someone I see as my dad if anything you're an older brother which is what I told some people who asked about you when I was in college."

Elijah nodded. "Understood. Go talk to Juice then get back to me tomorrow, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it." She nodded and moved around him. "Thanks 'Lijah, for always managing to help me with all my crazy ideas."

**July 12, 2009**

"Juice." Bri moved into the backyard and saw the man sitting on the bench. "Wanna talk to me for a bit. I have a crazy idea to run by you."

Juice looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, go for it."

She sat down on the grass in front of him and crossed her wrapped her arms around her legs. "I want to get rid of my opposition. I want the Family to be the only syndicate in Russia, in order to do that. I need to get rid of the other guys. I need an engagement party to throw." She frowned as his face twisted up in confusion.

"We're not getting engaged for you to off some guys Bri." He shook his head. "I already have enough shit on my plate with the club. I can't be a part of this right now."

The brunette shook her head. "Alright but I wasn't suggesting that you and I do it because they wouldn't care… I'm talking about me faking an engaement to Elijah…"

"You're going to get engaged to Elijah?" Juice laughed. "Alright, have at it."

Bri stood up and looked at Juice. "I don't get what's so damn funny… I'm trying to be serious with you right now Juice."

He shrugged. "I'm going through some shit and you're talking about a fake engagement to a man who doesn't even like you past a friendship level. No one will ever believe that you two are in love and getting married. It's absurd and funny." He stood up and kissed her. "Have your fake engagement babe. I will support you with it."

She shook her head. "It's that obvious that he doesn't like me? That sucks, I don't know how to pull this shit off then."

Juice pulled her into a hug. "He'd probably look at you like he was in love if you were blonde and your name was Jacey."

Bri chuckled and nodded. "That obvious that he's in love with Jacey?"

"Yup." He kissed her again. "I can't wait to see how all of this plays out… It's going to be some much needed entertainment and relaxation."

She rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you and the club?"

"It's just all crazy shit and so much violence… All the dumb ass white supremacist bullshit… No offense." He looked at her and shrugged.

"I'm so offended right now!" Bri shoved at Juice and shook her head. "You can't group me in with all that bullshit. I'm over that shit, if I could kill all of 'em I fucking would but since I can't, I have to take the evil out one at a time. Starting with the Russians… Look at that, I'm killing off some of my own people. God bless America."

Juice shook his head and wrapped his arms back around her. "You knew what I meant. You're white and they're white… I'm not white our kid isn't but half white. It's bad in their eyes. It fucking sucks. I just need to continue to protect you all." He kissed her as he pulled her onto his lap as he sat back down on the bench. "Let's just sit here and stare at the pool." He tightened his arms around her, feeling better now that he had shared his problems with her. Taking a lot of weight off of his shoulders.


	47. Chapter 47 Apology

**as a warning there's not any Juice in this chapter but nonetheless it's an important chapter. Especially for Bri towards the end. **

* * *

**July 16, 2009 **

Bri shook her hair out, hoping she looked like she had beach waves and not bed head. She grumbled as she looked in the mirror and decided to twist her hair up and into a bun. "Of course I look gorgeous with my hair up, cheekbones for days. Cheekbones for years. I'm so flawless, I swear to God."

"It isn't good to swear to God." Elijah appeared in the mirror and smirked. "I don't think it's good for you to always be talking to yourself either." He moved further into the room, looking around for Javier and Juice. "Where are they at?"

"I decided to let Juice take him to the clubhouse and now I'm trying my hardest to stay distracted so I won't hop in the car and rescue my son from the hot mess that is the clubhouse in Charming." She shrugged. "I want to know something though Elijah, now that we're about to be the most powerful couple in the Family's history, will you continue to wear the suits or will you dress like you did when I was in college, casual and perfect."

He shook his head and chuckled. "You make it sound like you weren't just in college a year ago… I don't know, I may switch out the Armani for jeans and a button up if you're suggesting that. I love my suits though just as you liked those god awful Nike slides and crop tops when you were younger and were too lazy to get dressed for class."

Bri nodded. "You know what I mean E, when you were all caught up with Jacey, you used to dress differently. Hell, you were fucking fun as fuck too… I need some of that Elijah in my life. I mean we are gonna be faking an engagement and sending out fake announcements to the organization. We can't look all formal on it, no matter how fucking amazing we look all dressed up in black and white."

Elijah nodded. "We're gonna still think this whole idea through. It could fall through as soon as you mention it to Juice or Aleksandr."

She stood up and walked towards him. "Well, I'm going to talk about it with Jacey and I'm pretty sure it'll fall apart then." She patted his chest and smiled up at him. "Take my black AmEx and go get you some normal street clothes. For fucks sake, get tank tops and show off those amazing ass arms you have hidden under the suit." She pointed to her purse on the bed. "My treat, my dear Elijah."

"Why are you telling Jacey?" He stiffened up as he moved away from the brunette. "It's not exactly any of her business…"

Bri rolled her eyes. "Because she's my best friend and I want to talk to her about this so she can tell me if I'm being entirely crazy with this shit… Relax, it'll be good if she shuts it down, maybe it means she has some type of feelings for you still and you can swoop in and get her if Hap and her ever break up." She moved out of the door before sticking her head back inside. "Elijah! I mean it! Go get you some tank tops and jeans, the kind that'll hug that juicy ass of yours!" She jogged down the stairs, pausing at the mirror in the foyer and pulled her shirt off, leaving her in her sports bra as she waltzed out of the house and jogged to Jacey's front door, pressing the doorbell repeatedly.

"Oh my god! What?!" Jacey pulled the door open and started to glare at the guest before the glare fell and a smile appeared. "Hi beautiful! What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you about something." Bri smiled. "Promise not to hate me for it?"

Jacey shrugged, pulling the brunette into the house and shutting the door. "Putting it like that kinda unnerves me... What's on your mind, B?"

"Elijah." The brunette blurted as she shrugged her shoulders.

Jacey cocked an eyebrow at the brunette. "What'd you do, Bri?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why would I hate you for whatever you did with him? He's not my boyfriend or anything..." She mumbled the last part.

"I didn't do anything to him." Bri shook her head. "I need him to be my fake fiance though, so I came over here to talk to you about everything before him and I faked an engagement."

Jacey nodded her head and shrugged. "Why? What do I have to do with that?"

"Because you liked him, like him… Had feelings for him. I don't wanna do anything that'll make you feel uncomfortable or offend you." The brunette frowned.

"Like. Have. Do." Jacey shrugged. "All present tense, B, as in now time period."

"Then what the fuck are you with Happy for?" Bri crossed her arms. "Jacey!"

The blonde shook her head, moving out of the foyer. "What do you mean? It's not a mutual thing... So I'm doing what I can."

"Oh my fucking God." She covered her mouth. "Jacey, Elijah loves your ass. Has since he basically met you. You didn't get the signs or the hints?"

Jacey looked back from the fridge and shook her head. "That's not a joke, Bri... That's not funny. What are you even talking about?"

"I'm not taking it as a joke and I'm not making a joke." Bri sighed. "The night Elijah got back from his job he went to your apartment and Esai answered the door so he came to my house and he whined about it until he fell asleep."

Jacey let the fridge door close as she stared at Bri. "What?" She shook her head. "Why is this just now becoming something to discuss? What?"

"Because we usually avoid the Elijah topic." The brunette shrugged. "I honestly thought you knew and you just loved Esai and Happy more or something… Who am I to butt into your relationships?"

Jacey shook her head. "What the fuck!" She ran her hands through her hair. "Ok... Um, alright."

"What's wrong?" Bri frowned again. "Should I have just continued keeping that secret? I just wanted to talk to you about everything because I didn't want you finding out when we came over to ask you to take the pictures for our fake announcements…"

Jacey sighed, shaking her head. "Why would I be upset or anything? Its my fault... I didn't pursue anything. I thought he didn't want to be with me when he left so I just got back with Esai... It's just my fault. But yeah, sure, I'll do the pictures. Sure." She shrugged. "Just let me know when." She turned around, opening the fridge again, pulling out a bud light.

"Baby! If it makes you uncomfortable just tell me for fucks sake…" The brunette poked at her best friend's back. "Come on J, you know you can tell me if you're upset. I won't do it if you're uncomfortable in anyway."

Jacey shook her head. "I have no right to say a thing, just because I'm an idiot." She whispered, shrugging. "Gotta make sure you're happy first. Do it if you'll be happy and smile."

"You're so stubborn." Bri shook her head. "It's a fake engagement, that's going to end in a huge blow up because I'm seeking to get a rise out of the family… I can put having fun aside if you _need_ me to. That's why I came to you before we did anything Jacey… I can't have you being all upset. Plus, I told him you'd probably shut the idea down and he did that stupid little smile thing he does…"

Jacey turned slowly, leaning on Bri. "I'm fucked either way, B. I'm with Happy now..."

"But you're at least happy with him and love him right?" She slowly rubbed Jacey's back. "Relationships are so complicated sometimes."

The blonde shrugged. "Yeah... Sometimes. But it doesn't stop me from wondering about the past, wondering what if."

"You're killing my soul right now Jacey." Bri shook her head and sighed. "But I don't blame you, I always wondered about the past and the what ifs and look at where that got me… I mean I know if you and Mr. Suit worked out, it would be magical but I don't want you torturing yourself. Maybe you should talk to him…"

Jacey shook her head. "He won't talk to me... I wouldn't. He'd probably just blow me off." She shrugged. "What guy honestly wants to be with someone who has a child by another man? Elijah probably hates me anyway."

"He still likes you. It's Elijah we're talking about here. He's an honorable man, he _loves_ baby Blondie." Bri smiled. "He would want to be with you if things didn't work out between you and Happy for some reason."

Jacey nodded slowly, downing the rest of her beer. "How much do you love her?"

"I love baby Blondie as much as I love Javi, Moni and Audis…" The brunette smiled. "Do you want me to adopt her so you can run off with Elijah and have half Russian babies with him and then come back to Oakland when she's like four… I'm down for that scenario."

Jacey laughed, shaking her head. "Just watch her long enough for to fall in a drunken stupor..."

"I can babysit her." Bri nodded. "You should be sober while you talk to Elijah though… I talked him into dressing like he did when we were in school. Hello tank tops, goodbye Armani."

Jacey shook her head. "Gonna go drink by myself in the studio... Don't let anyone in there." She grabbed a bottle of wine from the wine rack before grabbing a bottle of whiskey. "Please and thank you."

"Don't make me call him over here… You know I'll have him drag you out of the studio." The brunette pouted. "Fine, you drink. Me and Cam are gonna be lazy on the sofa."

Jacey looked back and shook her head frantically. "Do not call Elijah... He'll hide the alcohol..."

"I'm not." Bri shrugged. "If you wanna drink and ignore your feelings some more, I'm going to be an amazing friend and allow you to do so."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I hear that tone, Bri... You want me to go talk to him and I don't own a damn dictionary for the words that would be good enough to say to him." She shook her head. "Can't do it. Unless he's going to just magically grant me with an amazing explanation."

"He never said anything because he's not the type of guy to break up a relationship even if it's doomed to begin with. You know how he is, he's old school Jacey. He was going to let shit run it's course with Esai and then tell you his feelings but his plans sort of got derailed when he had to try to hunt me down." The brunette shook her head. "I'm sorry, I guess it's sort of my fault for it not happening."

Jacey shook her head again. "Call him..."

Bri smiled and nodded. "I'll do that right now… Remember no touching!"

"You'd have to be specific... No touching what?" She cocked an eyebrow at her.

"No touching Elijah because you're still in a relationship… If you wanna touch him, I'll be the proxy and touch him for you." The brunette smirked as she looked up from her phone and shrugged. "Don't look at me like that."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Note to self. Stop being friends with Brianna because you both like the same guys..." She grinned, putting the alcohol back in its places. "I have morals, I won't physically touch him."

"What? You know Elijah rejected me years ago for _you_." Bri shook her head. "I've totally gotten over it, now I just enjoy fucking with him."

Jacey shrugged. "All about the blondes, babe... Men love it and I'm a natural? Natural winning, baby!" She smirked, blowing a kiss to her best friend.

"I'm so over everyone and their obsession with blondes." The brunette rolled her eyes. "I'm just gonna go home to Russia and be around the brunettes."

Jacey grinned, pulling Bri to her. "But I loooove you plus you're a brunette. It's my favorite!"

"Nope, nope." She shook her head. "The lies you're telling right now! Elijah should be here soon. He better not be in a damn suit either."

The blonde laughed. "Look at my track record, B, I only do brunettes. No wonder we're together!" She kissed Bri's head.

"We're the greatest couple that never was." Bri shook her head. "I don't even wanna think about my sad excuse of a love life."

Jacey shook her head. "It's because you never gave us a shot. You're too picky!" She laughed, kissing Bri's head again. "We could've been epic."

"I'm picky?" The brunette scoffed. "That's the biggest lie I've heard in my life… You know I'm far from picky unless we're talking about cars or something. Then I'm very picky."

The blonde nodded her head, hearing Camryn cry as the doorbell rang. "Well shit... We'll discuss your horrible pickiness later. You get the door, I'll get the best cockblocker I know."

Bri nodded and walked towards the front door, pulling it open and smiling at Elijah. "Don't you look dashing in your casual clothes."

"I try... What's up? How'd she take it?" He looked past Bri and around the foyer for the blue eyed vixen.

"You know exactly how she took it!" The brunette popped his chest. "She likes you and then blamed herself for not telling you how she felt… Good news though, she put the alcohol away herself this time!"

Elijah shook his head. "It's not her fault, Brianna, did you tell her that? Is she ok?" He slowly entered the house, looking into the living room. "Why'd you call me here?"

"I told her it wasn't her fault." Bri shrugged. "She's a mess, she went to grab Cam who started crying as soon as the doorbell rang. I called you here because she wants to talk to you."

The man nodded slowly. "I guess you're gonna leave?"

"Nooo, I'm gonna watch baby Blondie while you two talk." She smiled at him. "Unless you want me to leave, then I'll happily oblige."

Elijah shook his head. "No, no, stay... Unless Jacey wants you to go."

"I hope you two can talk all of it out and come to some conclusion." Bri hugged the man and tried to lift him off his feet. "You've gained weight… That upsets me."

He chuckled. "I have not... You're just weak."

"Elijah." Jacey slowly walked into the foyer, holding her daughter. "She's been changed, Bri, you can go swimming with her if you want. Her weird floats are outside in the pool house."

Bri moved towards Jacey and took Cam. "That's my baby in there… Don't break his heart too badly…"

"And you're holding mine. Don't drop her, drown her or make her cry." Jacey kissed Cam's head before kissing Bri's. "Have fun."

"Talk loudly so it carries to the backyard." The brunette smirked. "I'm serious as hell too."

Jacey laughed, watching Bri walk off. "Hi..." She gave him a small smile. "Kitchen or living room?"

"Living room, less chance of an item turning into a weapon." Elijah smiled back at the blonde. "So, I guess we're going to actually talk about things."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah... Guess so." She sat down in the recliner. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"My timing was always slightly off." He shook his head. "I've always wanted to say something but you were always invested in someone else."

She shrugged. "Thought you didn't want a thing to do with me unless it involves watching over me... Thought you just wanted to ignore the fact that we had any history together."

"I like you Jacey. I had the chance to leave you and Bri and watch over Nik but I chose to stay because I cared too much about you to not be in your life at all. I could never ignore our history, it's something that I'll always remember. I do regret not telling you about my feelings, part of me was almost relieved when Bri told me you and Happy were having problems. I thought that could have been my time to speak up but it just didn't work out that way." Elijah rubbed his chin and sighed. "It's all been difficult but for some reason I just can't tear myself away."

"Guess it makes sense now when I moved to North Carolina. You were good with staying with me and I couldn't figure out why..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry I always ran..."

"Yeah but we got you and Happy back on the same page, so it's good." He shrugged and smiled. "It's okay. I didn't think you were running, just thought you weren't that into me. The only actual time I felt like there was something between us besides the physical attraction was oddly in North Carolina."

She shrugged, looking down at her lap. "Why's that?"

"Because it was just the two of us for a moment, well and Camryn but it was finally us completely alone together in an emotional type setting but I just couldn't do anything but tell you it was going to work out with Happy." He shook his head. "I just thought it was what you wanted, to be happy with him."

The blonde stood up, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. "Follow me... I wanna show you something."

Elijah nodded and let himself be pulled out of the living room. "Alright."

"The whole reason I even started photography hardcore..." She pulled him into the studio and let his hand go. Grabbing an album off one of the shelves in the corner of the room. "Take a look." She passed the album of pictures full of them in their brief time together to the man on the other side of the table.

"I look good." He smiled as he flipped through the pictures. "You look gorgeous too… We actually look happy and good together. Bri was right this whole time." He looked up at her.

She laughed, nodding. "Wanted to take pictures of couples that looked as happy and good as we did in these. Became an inspiration... Wanted to do all this good shit with photography."

"What happened then?" Elijah looked back down at the pictures. "These are amazing Jacey."

She shrugged. "We didn't happen so it felt the happiness in the pictures was bullshit..."

"That was genuine happiness." He frowned and looked at her. "It's my fault, for not coming back sooner. I guess I should have been a dickhead and admitted my feelings to you regardless of the fact you were working shit out with Esai. I never liked him, he wasn't what you needed."

Jacey sat down and shrugged again. "What do I need then, Elijah?"

"I don't know anymore. I honestly thought you had all you needed with Happy." He shrugged as he flipped back through the pictures. "I just need you to be at your happiest Jacey. Then I'll be happy, hell maybe one day I'll be like you and try out the whole loving someone else thing. I can't push these feelings for you away until I know you're at your happiest. I don't want you settling though. I hate to say this but I don't want you to be like Bri. I want you to fight for what you need and who you love. If that's Happy then good if not then I suggest you don't drag it out, not even for your child."

Jacey ran her hands through her hair a few times. "Remember, Elijah. There's a fine line between who you're in love with and who you love. You can't ever forget that... Sometimes settling is your best best because things just refuse to go in your favor."

"Believe me, I'll never forget it." He nodded. "I don't want you or Bri settling though, no matter how much shit life throws at the both of you… You mean a lot to me Jacey. I just hope things don't become too complicated for us."

The blonde started to tap on the table, her nails hitting it in the most annoying way. "So what? It's either risk everything and tear Camryn from the most important person in her life and risk most of everything and tear me from you? That the plan? Those the options?" She kept her eyes trained on anything in the the room but the handsome man sitting across from her.

"I am not saying to tear her from her father. I'm saying I don't want you to settle but I do want you to do what's best for you and the situation at hand." Elijah stopped her fingers from tapping. "You know I hate that shit… I'm always going to be around and in your life, it may not be in a romantic sense but I'll be around. I could never ask you to throw this life you have away for me, that would be selfish. This is no longer about us, it's about what's best for your daughter. We've waited this long, I guess we can wait a little longer to see how things unfold…"

Jacey moved her hand out from under his much larger hand and shook her head. "For one damn minute, just one. Stop being selfless and just say what you want!" She started tapping her fingers again, looking at him.

He covered her hand again. "I want you." He stared at her and smirked. "Is that what you were trying to pull out of me?"

"Is the tapping bothering you or something, Elijah?" She started to glare at him. "What about me? What do you want from me?"

"It's annoying." Elijah rolled his eyes and tapped on the table to emphasize the point. "I want you. _All_ of you. I want you to be _mine_."

She shrugged, continuing to tap. "It doesn't bother me..." She cocked an eyebrow at the man and begun to smirk, watching him run a hand down his face. "What would you even know, 'Lijah? Been years since you've even had me..."

"You're really going to be that difficult?" He knocked her hand off the table. "Doesn't mean I haven't forgotten every little detail… I'm more interested in having your heart than I am about getting in your pants Jacey."

She shrugged. "It's intriguing watching you slowly become unnerved..." She nodded. "I gave it to someone once and that turned around and bit me in the ass so call me cautious."

"I'm trying my hardest to keep my composure here J. It's already low when I don't have my suit to fiddle with." Elijah nodded. "I've never given mine to anyone…"

Jacey shrugged, tapping on the table again. "Why? What do you honestly have to lose?" She leaned forward, running a hand down his cheek. "Why not? It's not as bad as people make it out to be... Some people are better at keeping theirs locked away because they know they'll get walked all over, in the worst ways."

He shrugged and moved back from the table and out of her reach. "No woman has been lucky enough to get it… I would have given it to you but things didn't work out." He sighed. "I don't think I'll be getting walked over, I just don't want to hand it over to just anyone. It wouldn't feel right."

"Look at that, 'Lijah, move resolve than you give yourself credit for." She stopped tapping on the table and ran her hands through her hair out of annoyance. "You and your heart would've been in good hands, I'm sure of that."

"I'm sure of it as well." Elijah shrugged. "It's not easy to talk about all of this with you… You're not Bri. You're actually difficult."

"How?" Jacey shook her head. "I'm not doing anything..."

"You're not all that open emotionally. You also tend to start clamming up all together." He shook his head. "You're stubborn."

The blonde looked up at him and shook her head. "What do you want to know? Ask anything and I'll answer... I don't mind." She shrugged. "Go ahead."

Elijah blinked at her. "Absolutely nothing Jacey." He moved further away from the table. "If you had anything more to say, it would have been laid out on the table with everything else."

"How easy do you think this is for me? You're the only person who's ever wanted to be this invested in me..." She stood and grabbed the album. "I'm not an open book with anyone... It's hard to trust anyone enough to give them all of me. I can't just do it. Do you know how much effort it took me to even try to push my feelings for you away? And they won't go away for nothing!"

He moved towards her, his hand falling to her hip while the other cupped her face. "You're an amazing woman Jacey Teller. Why wouldn't I want to be invested in you? Stubborn or not, I like the challenge you pose." He smiled at her. "Just tell me to leave and I'll leave. I won't be around to complicate things further."

"No..." She whispered, shaking her head. "I won't."

Elijah nodded. "I should get going. I have to pick up Monica from ballet." He frowned before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I won't ever forget this conversation… I hope it'll work out for you one day, for us but if not I won't be upset as long as you're happy and Cam is happy."

"I don't want you to leave, Elijah. I don't want you to go anywhere." She shook her head, stepping away from him slowly. "I'm sorry..." She closed her eyes as she ran her hands through her hair. "I'm sorry."

He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head. "I won't go if you need me to stay. I'll have Igor pick her up."

"I'm sorry I ran away from my feelings for you..." She shook her head. "That seemed so much better than drowning in the heartbreak."

"It's alright, I don't blame you." Elijah shook his head. "You've been through a lot."

Jacey shook her head. "You don't have to stay... Go get Monica, spend some time with her."

"She is my favorite out of the four of you." He smiled.

She laughed, shaking her head. "I'll pretend that wasn't just said." She ran her hands down his back before slowly pulling away. "You have to quit coming around... You always look handsome, no matter what you're wearing."

"It made you smile and laugh though." Elijah nodded. "So, I should just stay away? I'll keep to myself next door then. Annoy Bri with my suits."

She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back to her. "No... You better not!"

"You just told me to quit coming around." He shrugged. "I will be happy to oblige the request. Maybe I'll grow a full beard, look like the Viking."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Stay away if you want to, your choice, Elijah." She shook her head. "Much more handsome like this..." She tapped her fingers on his jaw.

"I'm not staying away." Elijah shrugged. "In fact, I may just come over here more often to see Cam… See if she likes me better casual or suited up and clean cut."

The blonde hopped onto the table, crossing her arms. "You just use me for my daughter. I could cry over that."

"Will it make you feel better if I told you I use Bri for her daughter as well?" He laughed. "You're one of my favorite people over twenty, congratulations."

Jacey smiled, rolling her eyes. "You can't have Cam, I refuse. She's my baby... Go get your own." She put her weight on her hands as she leaned back on them, her nails tapping on the metal table. "You know we figured out nothing, right?"

"I'll hit up the nearest college campus and find me a senior to knock up." He shrugged. "We figured it out. You like me, I like you but since it's shitty timing we're going to continue to be friends and if we are fated to be then we will be. Maybe it's not meant to happen until after Cam is off to college or something." He poked her legs. "You're going to knock it off with that tapping Jacey…"

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "You didn't do that the first go-round, I don't expect you to do it now, smart ass." She nodded slowly, shrugging. "Maybe we'll get our chance sooner than that. Who knows..." She started to tap her nails against the table harder, making the noise louder. "Am I?"

"I didn't want to the first time around but now that I'm thinking about it maybe I wanna start having some kids before I'm too old." Elijah smirked. "You're absolutely trying to drive me mad. I don't know what to do with you." He rolled his eyes. "Your nail tapping is as annoying as Bri's hair braiding and hair tugging when she's nervous."

Jacey shook her head. "You better not knock up some random ass female..." She opened her legs and hooked her leg around his, pulling him close to her. "I'm not trying to do anything."

"She wouldn't be random… She'd be very carefully selected, maybe a blonde with bright blue eyes." He unhooked her legs from his and stepped back. "You're starting a dangerous game with that."

The blonde continued to tap on the table, a glare forming on her gorgeous face. "That's good, describe her down to a T so I know exactly who to murder..." She shrugged. "What am I even doing, Elijah?"

Elijah smirked at the blonde. "Do I sense a hint of jealousy?" He irked a brow at her. "You and Nik aren't close friends right?"

"Do you want to get hit?" Jacey growled, sitting up, glaring at the man.

"What about Bri's new little blonde friend? Natalia, you meet her yet?" He shrugged and crossed his arms. "I'm just trying to find a suitable distraction while I'm waiting for the woman I love to become available, _again_."

The blonde let her hands bunch into fists. "Do whatever you want to, Elijah." She growled through gritted teeth.

Moving towards her, Elijah rested his hands on her thighs and squeezed them. "No need for you to get jealous Jacey. No one will ever mean more to me than you do. If you don't want me to sleep around voice it now… I can be pure when I need to be."

"I'm. Not. Jealous." She unclenched her fists and started tapping on the table again. "Do what you need to, you're not mine to voice such a thing to."

He hooked his hands behind her knees and pulled her towards the edge of the table. "I should really head out now…" He smirked as he backed away from her. "Before I get too handsy."

"No one told you to stop..." She continued to aggravate him by her tapping fingers, watching him run a hand down his face. "You wouldn't do anything anyway..."

Elijah shook his head, feeling his annoyance rise even more as the blonde continued to tap her fingers. "What makes you so sure?" He stepped back towards her, cupping her face in his hands as he moved his face closer to her so their lips were barely touching. "I'll do what I want when I want to do it. As of right now, that tapping has literally annoyed me to death." He looked down at her and smirked. "You might be with Happy but you're still mine and I'll get you back…" He let go of her face and moved backwards.

"Yeah? You want to do something? Do it then... Or are you just scared?" She started tapping her nails slowly. "Big bad Elijah scared to make any moves?" She grinned, nodding her head. "I get it."

He scoffed and looked at her intently before moving back between her legs, his hands resting on her hips as he stared down at her. "You've got it all wrong. I'm not scared to make any moves. I don't want to be the reason your relationship falls apart. I don't want to turn you into a cheater. As odd as it may sound, I don't want to insert myself between you and Happy." He kissed her forehead. "Taunt me all you want, make fun of me all you want but I'm going to hold onto my honor as long as I can."

"Make a move, Elijah. It's like a chess game and it's your go." She shook her head. "Very noble, not that I want you to keep that together but it's definitely noble." She wrapped her legs around him tightly, locking him in place. "If you're not scared..."

"What exactly do I have to be afraid of?" Elijah looked down at her. "I'm definitely not afraid of Happy. I've met worse, I am worse."

She shrugged, her hands momentarily ceasing their movements before continuing her obnoxious game to unhinge the man. "You tell me..."

"Jacey, I love you too much to make a move this moment." He looked at her. "Do you really want to cheat on Happy? Do you really want to break up the relationship prematurely and risk putting Cam in that turmoil? As much as I'd love to fuck you in this studio, I'll have to hold off just a bit longer."

The blonde closed her eyes... He'd gotten to her. She stopped tapping her nails, unwinding her legs from around him. "No."

"Good." Elijah poked at her cheeks. "Look at me Jacey…"

She tilted her head down before opening her eyes. "Why?"

"Because I think you're gorgeous and I like the color of your eyes." He chuckled as he tugged playfully on the ends of her hair. "We're good here, don't be too sad about it all. It's a lot to process and think about. If you change your mind about the feelings thing, just let me know. Alright?"

She looked up at him and shook her head. "It's more because I'll fail her... I will crush her if you and I ever get a chance."

"I understand that." Elijah nodded. "You don't ever have to crush her Jacey… Always put her first but at some point she'll understand that you'll need to be happy too."

The blonde shook her head. "We should get out of here... Hap hates anyone other than me and him in here."

"You better rescue Cam from Bri… I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to sneak home and get some fur to put your child in." He walked out of the studio behind the blonde, trying to get her to crack a smile. "You're clamming up on me Jacey."

The blonde looked back, shaking her head. "I'm not..."

"You went from flirty and laughing to broody and quiet." Elijah shook his head. "Grab your daughter… I'm going to head out and grab Monica, see if she wants some ice cream."

Jacey shook her head again. "No I went from trying to cheat on my boyfriend to basking in the fact that no matter what I'm a bad fucking person." The blonde looked around the backyard for her daughter. "Have fun, give her my love."

"You're not a bad person… You're just young and trying to figure out what's going to be the best for you while still keeping your daughter in mind." He pulled her into a hug. "You're not a bad person, don't ever think that you are. You're just trying to figure all this shit out… I will give her your love don't be surprised if she rings your doorbell later offering up ice cream."

Jacey rolled her eyes. "Oh stop... It's not going to work." She shook her head. "I'll give it to her best friend, I'm dieting."

Elijah rocked them back and forth. "You don't need to diet, your body is insane… But if you don't want ice cream I won't send her over. I'll eat it, I'm trying to bulk up. I need to get a little soft in the middle."

"All thanks to my child who thinks I'm forever nourishing her... I want to look good. Dieting is the newest step." She shook her head. "Like I said, Happy can have it. I'm sure he misses her anyway."

"I have a bone to pick with Happy, he took my Monica from me." He crossed his arms and pouted. "He's already got you so I should be able to keep Monica… Next time I turn my back he might have Bri too…" He laughed before shaking his head. "Nah, I don't see that happening."

Jacey shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me if he did end up having Bri too... They apparently have a kid together." She shook her head. "I need a damn drink."

"Picture them as a couple really quickly." Elijah laughed. "That'd be a joke… Have two drinks."

The blonde shook her head. "Ask Bri if she will keep Cam for the night... Might have the whole bar."

"She'll take Cam for the night." He nodded. "You can take the night off and enjoy yourself."

"Don't even try to stop me either... I'm drinking all this shit away. Go get Monica." Jacey moved away from the man, avoiding looking at him.

"Never. I remember the last time I tried to get a bottle away from you, ended up with a fat lip." Elijah smiled before moving away from her. "I'll talk to you later. Be well Jacey Teller."

She shrugged. "Maybe ya will, maybe not." She mumbled, shaking her head.

"Don't do anything stupid. I'm not above sending Aleksandr over here to lecture you." He looked back at her before leaving her standing in the doorway.

**SOA**

Bri closed the door behind her as she entered Elijah's bedroom, looking around before watching him walk out of his closet. "So, I guess we aren't going forward with that fake engagement." She smiled at him as she watched him slip into his suit jacket. "You get everything out with Jacey?"

Elijah nodded. "Yeah, I did get everything out. Although something is telling me that we're not going to be as close as we were before feelings got laid out." He watched as the brunette nodded her head and went towards his dresser and started straightening out his watches. "I'm sorry the plan is stalled out but it's good that you're taking her feelings into consideration."

"It's whatever. It was wishful thinking anyway." She slipped his rolex on her wrist and examined it carefully. "You have too many suits and too many rolexes." She set the watch back into it's spot on the dresser and sighed. "I don't think I like this whole being independent thing. It's a bit more work than I originally thought it was."

He laughed. "Of course it is. It'll do you some good. I'm proud of you for taking the initiative and wanting to do things for yourself and not waiting for someone else to tell you what to do or handle things for you. It may be hard work but it's rewarding work."

"I know it's supposed to be rewarding but I just want shit to workout for me." Bri ran her hands through her hair. "I'm going to go annoy my son. Bye Elijah." She moved out of the room and towards Javier's nursery. "What are you doing in here?" She eyed Svetlana who was sitting in the glider, staring off to space.

Svetlana shrugged. "I still have a key, I want to talk to you. I didn't see you in your room…"

She rolled her eyes. "I want my key back and you should leave. I'm done with you Svetlana." She pointed towards the hallway. "I'm not arguing with you in here with my son." She moved out of the room, closing the door once Svetlana had stepped out. "You don't even know what you've started and you don't even care that bringing hostile people stateside could hurt _all_ of us. I'm not even just concerned about Juice, the father of my son or Happy who's Monica's best friend and basically her dad. This could hurt you and me. We could easily become casualties of some dumb beef between two men who want to show off whose dick is bigger."

She nodded. "I came to apologize and I didn't mean to start this shit. I just didn't want to be dismissed. I'm a Putlova and I wanted to prove that I'm loyal to _my_ family."

Bri nodded. "I accept your apology but I still need the key back and I need you to leave… We can talk shit out when all of this blows over. Until then, I need you to be gone Svetlana. I need to stay loyal to _my_ family. One that I thought you were apart of until right now. Bye Svetlana… See you around." She stood and watched as the brunette wiped at her eyes and started down the stairs. "May the best family win." She mumbled to herself before walking back into the nursery, reminding herself of what she was protecting by any means necessary.


	48. Chapter 48 Viktor

**July 24, 2009**

Juice dropped his backpack just outside the door of Javier's room. He shed his dusty hoodie and kutte. Tossing them both out into the hallway before walking inside and straight to the crib. He scooped up the sleeping child and cradled him to his clean white shirt and moved back towards the glider and sat down. "I missed you Javi." He mumbled as he turned the table lamp on and studied his son's face. His nose was looking more like Bri's and his hair was getting curlier and darker. "You and your mom are my solace in this crazy ass world."

He sighed and pressed a kiss to his forehead and smiled. "You're so perfect and I wanna make sure you never are in the same position as me. I want to make sure you don't ever make the same fuck ups I've made, especially with your mom." He rested his head against the back of the chair and started to slowly rock back and forth, drifting off to sleep before he even realized it.

**SOA**

Bri yawned as she finished drying Javier off from his morning bath. "Baby love, did you get some good sleep in your daddy's arms earlier? I walked in on you two and it was the cutest shit ever. I took a few pictures." She wrapped him tightly in the towel and smiled as he tried to laugh. "It's alright, your laugh will come out soon."

"Can I wear this to the orientation?" Monica stomped into the bathroom and crossed her arms. "Happy bought me these boots!" She pointed at the slightly oversized looking combat boots on her feet and smiled.

"You can wear that baby, you actually look really cute." She smiled. "You wanna sit down and eat your breakfast? I made it especially for you my love."

"You made me waffles with strawberries?" The brunette climbed up onto a stool and looked at the plate of food. "You did! These are my favorites. I love strawberries."

Bri nodded. "I know you do my dear." She pressed a kiss to her daughter's head. "I'm gonna sit here and get your little brother dressed and looking really cute so we can head out to the new school. I hope you love it Monica. I hope it'll be fun for you, if not we can always have the teacher keep coming to the house to teach you."

"I wanna go to school! I wanna make so many new friends!" Monica stuffed her face with the waffles and nodded. "I'm going to love this."

"Slow down." Bri tapped her nails on the counter. "The food isn't going to run off if you slow down my dear… Enjoy it."

"Alright." Monica slowed her pace down. "I'm going to eat them so slowly. This is amazing. I love these waffles."

"Are you excited for your birthday?" She eyed her daughter and smiled. "We can have a sleepover for you or something."

"I'm excited! I'm going to be seven and I'm so excited about it all!" Monica clapped her hands and wiggled back and forth. "I want a big cake and I want a pony!"

"A pony!?" Bri nodded. "What color and what will you name him?!"

"I want a white one, I'm going to name him Waffles." She pushed her empty plate away and smiled. "I maybe want a tan one."

"Oh Waffles the pony? That's interesting. Let's go look at horses and ponies later today then, see if we can't find you a Waffles." Bri shifted Javier in her arms as Juice walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. "Good morning sleepy head."

"What time is it?" Juice sat down next to Monica and flashed her a goofy smile before kissing her forehead. "Monica."

"Juice." Monica smiled up at him before looking at the microwave. "It's almost two!"

"Oh! I slept all day huh?" He shook his head. "Where are you three heading out to?"

"To my new school and then to see horses and ponies because if we find a white or tan one I can get him for my birthday." She threw her arms in the air and wiggled them back and forth. "I'm excited for it all!"

Juice looked at Bri and smirked. "A pony? A horse? Where are you going to put it huh?"

Bri shrugged. "We'll keep it at the stables… It's not a hard thing to do. She's gonna get a horse if she finds one she loves. I'm not above spoiling her."

"I can get an actual horse!?" Monica smacked the counter top and cheered as she hopped off the stool. "I'm gonna go tell Iggy and 'Lijah about this! I'm getting a horse named Waffles and he's gonna be the best horse! I'm going to learn how to jump over things and all of that!"

She watched her daughter stomp out of the kitchen before sitting down on the stool and passing Javier to Juice. "I guess my princess is getting a horse."

Juice laughed. "You're such a sucker babe." He looked up from his son and smiled at Bri. "So, now that we're in a better place or what I assume to be a better place, what are we even doing now? Also, I'm sorry about your fake engagement falling through." He laughed harder and shook his head.

"Well, apparently that idea was stupid to begin with and I have no idea what I was actually thinking. I think that formulated more out of boredom than anything else." She poked his arms and shrugged. "We're still working on being a better couple… I'm all for saying we're in a relationship again as long as we continue to work on us."

"That's good to hear." He leaned over and kissed her. "I'm glad we're boyfriend and girlfriend. I didn't even have to pass you a note like the first time! Remember that shit?"

"How could I even forget it? I still have that note. In fact I have most things that you gave me even though I should have burnt most of it." Bri combed her hair with her fingers and sighed. "You wanna come to the orientation with us?"

Juice nodded and smiled eagerly. "Of course I will come with you guys, especially if you're gonna go to a farm and look at horses…"

**SOA**

"I'm getting a horse!" Monica was the first one out of the Audi as it came to a complete stop in the first available parking spot. "I got a new school now I'm getting a horse! Life is so good for me right now!"

Bri rolled her eyes and smiled at how excited her daughter was. "You my dear, you need to turn it down a little bit."

"Nope! I want the horses to know that I'm gonna talk to every one of them and hopefully find my Mr. Waffles." The tiny brunette smiled. "Come on Mama! Let's find me a horse."

Bri looked at Juice and laughed. "Waffles is apparently a Mr now." She grabbed her purse and let it hang from the crook of her left elbow. "You okay with the stroller over there babe?"

Juice nodded. "Yes, I got it babe."

"Alright, I called ahead. I told the guy we were looking for a good horse for a seven year old." She started behind Monica. "You think she knows where she's even going?" She watched as the young girl's curly hair bounced around wildly. "I hope she finds a horse. I had a horse, her name was Primrose and she was amazing, then she passed away when I was twenty."

"Miss Hohrykova?" The man walking towards them smiled and stopped.

"Yes, that's me." Bri shook his hand and smiled. "What tipped you off? I thought I dressed for the occasion."

"I'm Blake." He tipped his hat to her. "You were the only one I was expecting today, the farm is actually closed to the public today."

"Are you gonna show me the horses Blake?" Monica inserted herself between the pair. "I have money to buy one right now!" She pulled out her wallet and waved around a five dollar bill. "I'm very serious about this horse!"

Blake nodded. "Yes I am. You can just follow me and I have some gorgeous horses to show you." He started off towards the stables. "You interested in riding lessons for her as well? We have an amazing Equestrian center on site."

Bri smiled. "Yes, I would actually love to sign her up for lessons. Can't get a horse without knowing how to ride one… Also, I just want you to know that I'm not trying to get her some super fast Kentucky Derby time horse either. I want one that she can learn how to jump with and run around barrels or something. I don't know, whatever she's really into honestly. If she even sticks with it."

"Can we rent a horse?" Juice chimed in as they entered the stable. "So it's not something permanent."

"You can do that. You can actually sign her up for lessons and we'll provide the horse for her." Blake stopped in front of a stall. "I think this one could be a fine Waffles." He tapped on the wood and a tan horse came up and neighed. "What do you think little lady?"

Monica smiled. "He's beautiful! It's a boy right! Mr. Waffles!" She moved closer and looked at her mom. "I wanna touch him!"

Bri watched as Juice lifted her up. "Well, I think this is a real contender but Monica, you can't just pick the first one you lay your eyes on… What if there's a different one you love?"

The tiny brunette shook her head. "This one is my horse mommy! I can't explain it but we have a connection."

"Well Dr. Doolittle, talk to your horse and I'll go pay for him." Bri smiled at Blake. "Do you guys sell saddles and all that too?"

Blake nodded. "We do." He smiled. "Follow me and we'll get everything in order."

"Alright." Bri nodded. "I'll be right back… I can't believe I'm buying a seven year old a damn horse." She mumbled before looking back to see Monica laughing and smiling.

**July 25, 2009**

Juice crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around Brianna's waist and rested his head on her lower stomach as he sighed loudly. Looking up at her and hoping she would show some interest in him and less in her movie. "Babe." He sighed even louder and squeezed her tighter. "Baby, baby, baby!"

"What?" Bri looked down at him and frowned. "What the hell happened to you? You look like you got into some fist fight. Jesus Christ."

He shrugged. "I got into a fight and now I need my lady to take care of me… Please baby? Love on me and make it all better like that one time?"

She nodded and tapped his arms. "Alright, go sit on the bathroom counter and I'll be in there in a minute to clean you all up. I gotta grab my bag, the cut above your eye looks like it needs stitches. I gotta patch you up properly my love."

He got up and moved into the bathroom, lifting himself onto the counter and turning on the water for Bri. He tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it towards the hamper as Bri walked in, a white bag in her hands. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Bri nodded. "You look like shit. I'm worried about you baby." She washed her hands and wiped them on the hand towel before opening her bag and pulling on a pair of red latex gloves. "You want something to numb the pain? I gotta give you some nice sutures baby love." She pressed a wet towel to his face and started to gently clean up the blood and dirt caked on his face. "You gonna tell me who beat the shit out of you?"

"We got in this full out brawl…" He shrugged. "It was pretty epic at the time but I took a few good hits and now I'm paying the price… I mean look at my face. I look like shit."

She shook her head and laid out a sterile napkin before putting her instruments in place. "So, I'm gonna give you a shot, just above the wound, it'll be a pinch but you won't feel anything afterwards. Then I'm going to give you some pain pills that should be taken with a full glass of water to get the full effect. If you take them without water you may become nauseous." She blinked at him, smiling at the look on his face. "This is my environment, this is my thing. I'm good at being a doctor."

He smiled as he felt the slight pinch above his eye. "You should see if you can't go to work, even if it's at a normal office. Nine to five." He watched her in the mirror as she easily stitched up his wound, her movements quick and precise as she had him closed up in no time. "That was fucking fast babe. Holy shit!"

Bri shrugged. "It's my thing… No big deal." She bandaged the rest of the smaller cuts and scratches that needed tending to. "Just doing what I was birthed to do… Stitch people up." She pressed a kiss to his lips and smiled. "You wanna take a bubble bath? I'll run you one… I won't ever tell anyone that you are taking a bubble bath."

He nodded. "I'd love a bath actually… No bubbles though, toss in some of that epsom salt that you're always recommending to me."

She nodded and walked over to the large tub and started to run the water. "Alright come on babe… You know the drill." She held her hand out to him and pulled him to her, easily ridding him of his last few articles of clothing. "You need to be in here at least thirty minutes… It'll soothe all your muscles and relax completely."

Juice sank down in the water and smiled. "This feels really damn good." He looked at Bri who was seated on the edge on the tub staring at him. "Why don't you come into the water with me babe?"

Bri smiled and shook her head. "I already took a bath with epsom salts… It's dangerous to over do it." She smacked the water and splashed him. "It'll be good for you though babe… You can relax and get everything off of your mind. I'm going to make you something to eat, come down to the kitchen when you're finished up in here."

**SOA**

Juice walked into the kitchen, finding not only Bri sitting at the table but Elijah as well. He approached slowly, clearing his throat to alert them of his presence. "Hey… Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all." Bri shook her head. "Elijah was telling me about how he wants to buy a red suit… I told him he'd look tacky as fuck."

Elijah chuckled as he stood from the table. "You two can have your privacy. I'm going to look online for the perfect red suit. Just so I can annoy you Bri." He kissed the top of her head before patting Juice's shoulder.

"I made you some tacos." The brunette pointed at the covered plate. "Carne asada, I'm such a chef these days. You should fucking love me to pieces Juan Carlos."

He kissed her as he sat down and pulled the plate towards himself. "I love you to pieces." He uncovered the tacos and smiled as he picked one up and took a giant bite. "I can't believe you made these this late in the night."

Bri shrugged. "It was easy… It wasn't too much work." She smiled at him. "Juice, if you need my help for anything ever, just let me know. I'm talking serious with you right now. If you ever wanna leave the club or if the club is pressuring to do shit that's out of character. Let me know and I will help you. I love you and I'll be damned if I let that club be the death of you."

Juice nodded at her. "I have things still somewhat in control right now. If I start needing your help, I'll reach out. Alright?" He smiled at her, contemplating what she just said. _If you ever wanna leave the club…_ He shook his head, the club was his family and the only way he was going to be able to leave it was in a body bag.

**August 3, 2009 **

"Happy birthday Monkey!" Bri jumped on her daughter's bed and blew a whistle. "Come on baby girl wake up! It's your day! We're doing it right this year. I made your favorite breakfast!"

Monica smiled up at her mom before shaking her head. "I don't feel well, my tummy hurts."

She stopped her celebration and dropped down to her knees, her hand instantly going to the seven year old's forehead. "Aw, you got a fever Monkey." She laid down next to her and frowned. "I'll get you some medicine and if you're up for it later we can have some cake and ice cream but if not we can just keep cuddling and watching movies."

"Naps and cuddles." The tiny Bri snuggled up to her mom. "That's all I want besides Mr. Waffles."

Bri held her tightly. "Well, when you're all better you can go start your lessons and learn to use a saddle." She brushed her daughter's hair out of her face and smiled. "Let's just cuddle and nap. We can open presents from the guys later."

"How many presents are there?" Monica looked at her mom. "A lot of 'em?"

She nodded and smiled. "I seen at least fifty downstairs in the family room… All for you Monica. You're the birthday girl, you're loved. So many presents for such a special little girl."

"I'll open them after we nap." Monica sighed and laced her fingers through her mom's. "I want to just be lazy until I feel better."

Bri grinned. "It's your day, we can do that."

**SOA**

"She's sick." Bri answered the question before it was even asked as she carried Monica into the family room and sat on the sofa, softly stroking the little girl's back. "Her fever is gone but she's still feeling bad. If it keeps up, I'll have to take her to the ER."

"Poor thing." Aleksandr took his granddaughter from Bri and frowned. "She been waking up though?"

She nodded. "She's been waking up. I've been keeping track of her vitals and all of that shit but if she keeps complaining of a stomach ache, I'll have to take her in to see if her appendix ruptured or is inflamed." She stood up from the sofa as the doorbell chimed. "I'll answer it. None of you guys jump up or anything." She rolled her eyes and moved towards the front door, looking through the peephole briefly before opening the door slowly.

"Ah, Katarzyna, what a pleasure it is to see you answer the door yourself." The man smiled at the brunette. "We just came to say we're in town."

Bri crossed her arms and glared back at the man. "Viktor… Thanks for stopping by." She shook her head. "Next time I'll remember to close my gate…" She slammed the door in his face, making sure it was locked before rushing back into the family room and looking between the men. "Viktor just knocked on my door… Putlov just showed up on my doorstep. We're in code orange! Or however the fuck that US terror scale works." She dropped to the sofa and looked at Aleksandr. "We're fucked."


	49. Chapter 49 Casually

**August 4, 2009**

"How you feeling?" Bri looked down at the brunette sitting in her lap and frowned. "Still hurting baby love?"

Monica nodded. "Yeah, I'm still hurting."

"Well, we're gonna see the doctor soon so you'll be fixed up in no time." She rubbed her daughter's back and kissed her forehead. "Then we'll get to go home and cuddle up in bed with your baby brother."

"I don't wanna see the doctor." The seven year old shrugged. "You're a doctor mom."

Bri nodded. "I know but I just need to make sure you're okay and that your stomach isn't something serious. I gotta make sure my princess is good all the time." She peppered the girl's face with soft kisses. "You're my baby love and I wanna give you so much love."

"You're silly." Monica giggled and hid her face from her mom. "I wanna cuddle now… Can you call Elijah and tell him to come here and sit with us?"

"Elijah is just outside, he'll be inside in a minute and you can cuddle with him." She smiled. "You want anything to drink or eat while we wait baby?"

"The coffee here is pretty good." Elijah passed a cup to Bri before sitting down next to her, smiling as Monica climbed into his lap. "How are you my girl?"

"I hurt all over!" Monica whined and snuggled up to the man. "I don't wanna see the doctor."

He nodded. "Moni, you have to see the doctor, they'll make you stop hurting all over then you can go see the horse."

"Hohrykova." The nurse smiled as she watched Bri stand up. "You can bring her back now."

"Come on, you too Elijah." Bri watched him stand and move towards the nurse before following behind the trio. "I hope nothing serious is wrong with my baby… She just woke up yesterday with a fever and complaining that she had pain in her stomach."

The nurse nodded as she closed the exam room door. "We'll do everything we can to find out what's wrong with her." She smiled as Elijah sat down on the exam table, Monica still wrapped securely around him. "Your daughter is gorgeous." She smiled at Elijah.

Elijah nodded. "Thank you, she gets it all from her mom."

"Yeah, yeah. I can see it." The nurse nodded. "I'm Valerie by the way, I just need to get in here and grab the princess' vitals."

"She's calm so she won't be any problem." Elijah smiled at Valerie. "Right Monica? You won't cause her any problem?"

Monica shook her head. "I'm used to getting my vitals taken… Mommy does it all the time to me!" She looked back at Bri and smirked.

"Did you see that devilish smirk she gave you?" He looked at Bri and smiled. "She's getting more like you every day."

"I know, I love it." She smiled back at him. "Valerie, I was wondering are you going to do any blood tests and can you check and make sure it isn't her appendix? I wanna rule that out if we can. If not then maybe some type of ultrasound on her belly…"

Elijah looked at the nurse. "She's a doctor… She's very thorough even when she's trying to hand over the reins to someone else."

"What?" Bri shrugged. "That's my one and only daughter, I plan to make sure she's good at any and all costs. If it's her appendix making her feel bad then I need that sucker out before it ruptures or something… She's the princess, _my_ princess."

**SOA**

Elijah moved back into the hospital waiting room, his eyes scanning the space for Bri before finally finding her, tucked into the corner, her gaze on her phone. He walked towards her, covering up the screen and quickly grabbing her attention. "We've got a problem my dear. A Viktor problem."

Bri raised an eyebrow. "Oh, please do tell me more about this problem…"

"He has four men sitting outside in SUVs, no doubt waiting for us to leave the hospital." He sat down and looked at her. "How would you like us to handle it?"

"I don't know, quickly." She waved her hand in the air and huffed. "My daughter is in surgery and that's the only thing I'm focusing on right now. Is her coming out safely… I know it's a routine appendectomy but still Elijah, shit can always go wrong. Use your discretion and handle the problem the way _you_ believe it should be handled. I trust you."

He nodded. "It will be handled then. I don't think you should be alone in here though."

Bri scoffed. "No one is going to bug me in a crowded waiting room." She shook her head and blinked at the man. "Fine, stay here with me until Aleksandr or Igor can come sit with me. Does that sound like a good plan?"

"She's going to be fine." Elijah grabbed Bri's hand. "I promise that she will be."

"Yeah, I know she'll be fine." The brunette nodded and turned her attention back to her phone and yawned. "I don't know why this is all happening and I don't necessarily care why it's happening. All I care about is making sure my family stays safe. So, everyone needs to ensure that everyone I love stays safe… You guys included. If it seems sketchy, get out of there."

"Hohrykova." Valerie smiled and waved at Bri. "She's out and in recovery."

Bri stood and moved towards the nurse and nodded. "Yeah? How'd it go?"

"There weren't any complications and she will be okay to go home in a few hours." She smiled at Bri as she lead her through the double doors and into Monica's room. "She's groggy which is normal, she should be fully awake soon."

Bri smiled and sat down in the chair besides Monica's bed and moved her hair out of her face. "You get to go home soon baby. I'll cuddle you up and love on you." She leaned over and gave the sleepy brunette a kiss. "You did so good baby."

"I want my teddy bear." Monica mumbled, her eyes half closed as she looked at Bri. "Please."

"Of course." She nodded and passed Monica the white teddy bear. "Humphrey is here for you, like always." Smiling, she watched the tiny brunette cuddle the bear close to her chest, her face rubbing against the bear's head. "I've had that bear since the day I met Elijah… He won it for me at the fair. Soon as I saw you again, I gave it to you. Elijah was the one who called him Humphrey. He's a goof when he's not wearing the suits."

**SOA**

"How is she?" Juice dropped down on the sofa next to his girlfriend and looked at Monica who was splayed out on the sofa across from them. "She got the good pain killers huh?"

Bri laughed and nodded. "She's good. They gave her some good pills and said she should be all ready to go by the time school starts back up for her. It's good we caught it before it burst. It was a nasty inflammation. So gross, I got to see if afterwards."

"Did you ask to see it or did they just show it to you?" He scrunched up his face as he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he rested his head on top of hers. "If you asked to see it, I'm going to have to see if we can get you mentally evaluated."

"I asked to see it because I like doctor stuff like that… I never got to sit in on an appendectomy in school." She smiled. "How was your day alone with Javier?"

He laughed. "You're gross… It was awesome. It was a day on manly bonding. We slept in, we pigged out, we watched some CNN while building my stock portfolio. It was the perfect day with my son. I feel like we had this amazing moment together and I can't wait to tell him about it when he's older."

"He'll love hearing about trading stocks." Bri smiled. "He did alright with the bottles? I was worried about it. It's sort of weird not nursing him for a full day. I felt so disconnected from my baby boy."

"Is that why you literally texted me a hundred times?" Juice trailed his fingers over her collarbone before tapping on them. "It's golden though. I loved having the day with him and making the memory even if I'll be the only one remembering it ten years from now."

She shook her head. "I had to do something with my nervous energy so I kept bugging you about him so I wouldn't worry too much about Moni." She looked over at the seven year old who was still clutching Humphrey. "She loves that damn bear… She usually never takes it off the shelf though."

He eyed the bear and nodded. "What's so special about the bear?"

"Elijah won it for me then I gave it to her, I'm not sure why it's special to her though." Bri shrugged and tilted her head back to look at her boyfriend. "I'm glad we're back together and working shit out. You make me happy Juice. 99.9% of the time you do."

Juice nodded and smiled before kissing her forehead. "I'm happy we're back together too… You do make me happy. 100% of the time. Even if you sometimes confuse me with your weird doctor shit and all the stuff you know. You're way smarter than I remember you to be."

**August 6, 2009**

Bri sighed as she walked into the kitchen, her eyes half closed as she maneuvered around the large space. Hoping her muscle memory would lead her safely to the fridge and to the microwave. "I don't know why you guys think you can sneak around without me hearing your footsteps." Her grey eyes opened fully to see Frey and Elijah walking in from the garage, both men looking tired and bloody. "Who wants to be my first patient and who wants to tell me what the fuck you managed to get yourselves into?"

"Oh, this isn't _our_ blood." Frey waved off the offer. "We were handling business."

"Not in the garage right?" She pulled opened the microwave before it could beep. "Don't look at me like that, you know I'm a stress snacker, Elijah."

Elijah smirked. "I thought you wanted us to remind you about how you wanted your bikini body back and not allow you to snack pointlessly."

Bri shrugged and lifted up her shirt. "I'm almost halfway there." She bit into the hot pocket before spitting it out. "Well fuck me, that was still cold as ice." She dropped it into the trash and moved back towards the pantry. "I should have grabbed poptarts anyway."

"What are you up for?" Frey watched her open the box of poptarts before reaching forward and grabbing a foil package. "These things shouldn't even be legally sold. It's a rectangle of sugar."

She smiled. "I'm up because I'm stressed and Javier decided to be a baby tonight and fight his dad and me on when he wanted to sleep. Juice fell asleep three hours before Javi did. I haven't even been to sleep yet."

"You need sleep." Elijah snatched the pastry away from her and threw it away. "I think you need to lay down and not stress over things that we have under control. There's nothing to worry about Brianna. We handled the problem. I promise you that. Have I ever lied or broken a promise to you? Huh? Look me in the eyes right now."

Bri let her grey eyes find Elijah's brown ones. "No you haven't." She shrugged. "I believe you Elijah, I do. I can't just power myself down… It never works for me."

He nodded. "First, go lay down with your boyfriend, cuddle with him. You'll fall asleep eventually. We can resume this conversation in the morning if you'd like." He pushed her out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. "It's all done. Viktor has been handled, there's nothing to fret over. Go cuddle with Juice or cuddle with Monica. Take your pick."

Bri shook her head and started up the stairs. "Thanks Elijah. For everything."

**SOA**

Juice held Javier against his chest as he walked down the stairs, still yawning as he tried his best to keep him quiet and not wake up Bri who was just falling asleep when he was waking up. "Gotta keep it down… Your mommy is sleeping and if she doesn't sleep she'll be fucking cranky." He walked into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, grabbing a bottle before popping it into the bottle warmer on the counter. "I'll get you fed and then I'll change you and we can have another lazy day."

"Another lazy day?" Aleksandr walked into the kitchen. "You're going to spoil him to death."

He shrugged. "He deserves a lazy day. He was cranky last night kept his mom up. She didn't even fall asleep until fifteen minutes ago."

Aleksandr nodded. "Too bad, I was going to go upstairs and bug her." He shook his head before reaching out and running Javier's forehead. "You guys could have given him a little scotch, rum or bourbon on his gums. It would have put him right to sleep."

Juice shook his head. "I'll remember that for next time…"

"Worked for his mother. Especially when she was teething. She was quite a monster when her teeth were coming in." He chuckled as he sat down at the breakfast bar. "You haven't asked me for the engagement ring. Why's that?"

"I don't want to give it back to her… I want to get her a better one." Juice looked at the man and shrugged. "That's if you're still willing to give me your blessing to marry your daughter."

Aleksandr nodded. "I'm still willing to give you my blessing… I just hope you don't fuck up. Next time, I may not be too kind. You know how I like knives right?" He pulled his knife out and stabbed it into the wall beside Juice. "Next time you make my daughter hurt or you upset her. I will stab you right in the neck and toss you into a ditch and smile as you bleed out. You got that shit?" HE watched Juice swallow and nod. "Good… I'm going to attend to some business."

"Hey loser!" Nik smacked Juice's back. "A looked mad, you say some stupid shit to him or something… Hey Javi baby." She kissed her nephew's head and smiled.

He laughed and shook his head. "Nah. I was asking for his blessing to propose to Bri, _again_." He shrugged. "You think it's a good idea?"

The blonde shrugged. "I think it's an idea, dunno if it's necessarily a good one though. I mean you two just got back together. Is it a real possibility that'd she say yes?"

Juice nodded eagerly and smiled. "Yeah I do think it's a real possibility. We won't rush it or anything. We can take two weeks or twenty years to get married. There's no rush. I just want her in my life forever. It'll be good for us to have that. A promise that we're gonna be there for each other, no matter what."

Nik smirked. "Well, you have my blessing _Juan Carlos_." She tapped her nails on the countertop and nodded. "Let's home she says yes to the proposal."

"Don't call me that… Only Bri can call me that." He groaned and looked down at his son who was moving his little fists in the air. "See, Javi wants to fight you for calling me that shit… Let her have it man."

"Very fucking nice… Teaching my nephew to hit girls." She reached out and pinched Juice's cheek. "I'm rooting for you Juice, don't fuck it up…"

"I won't fuck it up. I promise." Juice watched her walk out of the kitchen before turning his attention back on his son. "How about we go ring shopping? See if we can't get her a nice diamond from the money we made trading that stock the other day?"

**SOA**

"I'm so damn tired." Bri looked up from her pizza and yawned. "I slept too much so it undid everything… I hate when that shit happens." She looked around the kitchen and shook her head at the realization that she was talking to herself. "Great." She pushed her plate away and yawned again as she heard the door leading from the garage open.

"Bri." Igor sat down across from the brunette and smiled. "What're you doing?"

She yawned once more. "Apparently I'm talking to myself… I'm so tired and I need sleep but if I nap now my sleep schedule will be fucked up and I just want a good night's sleep tonight."

He nodded his head. "Before you go to bed tonight, you need to take a sleeping pill… It'll put you right to sleep and you'll get the sleep that you need. I've been seeing Juice take up more of a responsibility with taking care of Javi."

"He's been good with everything. I'm happy that we're back together and working on making us solid. I love that man so damn much." Bri sighed and smiled. "I want it to work out, I wanna get married to that man. I wanna grow old with that man."

Igor smiled. "It'll work out if you believe it will. Put everything from the past in a box and toss it into the fire. It's time to focus on now. Take it day by day." He pressed a kiss to her temple and grinned brightly. "It's time for you to understand that you're deserving of love and happiness."

**August 12, 2009 **

Juice wasn't entirely sure what he was thinking but looking at the ring he was feeling all sorts of emotions. Emotions he had been fighting until the love of his life walked back into his life in the most random of ways. A fight in the SAMCRO clubhouse a year ago. It had been the best and worst night of his life. He couldn't get over the fact she was back but he also couldn't get over the fact that their relationship had ended so bitterly when they were teens. "I can do this." He pocketed the red box and moved outside into the backyard, finding Bri sprawled out on a towel. "Hey."

"Hi babe." Bri slipped her sunglasses off and looked at her boyfriend and smiled. "What's up? What's wrong? You look skittish."

He shook his head and sat down next to her, resting his head on her stomach and let out a huge sigh. "Nothing is wrong… I'm just a little nervous. I got a question to ask you but I'm thinking of you answering in a way I don't want you to."

She nodded slowly and reached out to lazily drag her fingers over his tattoos on his scalp. "These stupid scalp tattoos are finally growing on me…" She chuckled lightly before sighing. "Are you out here to pop the question again? This isn't anything close to how it was the last time you proposed Juice… My answer is still the same though, _yes_."

Juice sat up and looked at the brunette and smiled widely. "What? How'd you know I was going to pop the question? I think I'm pretty good with keeping secrets." He pulled the ring box out and passed it to her. "We're just doing this causally? You're agreeing to marry me sometime in the future Bri?"

Bri nodded and looked at the ring, expecting to see the original ring and not an entirely new one. "It's different from my other one…" She sat up and stared at Juice before passing him the box and holding her hand out. "Well, put it the fuck on my finger… But yeah, we're doing this causally and I'm agreeing to marry you sometime in the future Juice."

He smiled and pulled her over into his lap and hugged her. "I couldn't pop the question with the old one because that one was from a failed engagement… I'm dedicated to making this work and that means new ring, new outlook on us and life. I want this, I want us, I want happiness with you. I'm in love with you Bri, always have been, always will be. You're endgame, always have, always will be because I just can't see myself being happy with any other woman."

"I love this ring so much but I still wanna keep the first one." She kissed him and smiled. "You're endgame too Juice… I don't wanna be with anyone but you and I tried to picture myself with someone else but it's all just fuzzy images and I can't stomach the thought of not being yours. I'm in love with you, I don't want or need anyone else but you. I'm glad we're doing things our way with this relationship. Even if others don't necessarily agree with it. We'll take this relationship one day at a time. Make it work the way we want and need it to."

Juice hugged her and peppered her face with kisses. "I have faith that we'll make it work… All these years apart and we found our way back to each other. May have had some problems but we're both dedicated to making it work. Looks like we were fated to be together after all huh? Just as Ingrid told us when we were sixteen and fighting like cats and dogs."

She laughed and nodded. "You know I didn't think she was right until the night I laid eyes on you again… Everything felt right but of course I had to fight it and be immature and fuck with your emotions."

He shook his head. "I didn't even think _fated_ was a word to be honest. I just thought it was her translating words from Russian to English like she always did."

Bri chuckled. "Same but here we are ten years later… Having a conversation, engaged, with a child. It's amazing how time changes everything. Five years ago I would have laughed at someone telling me we would end up together with a kid."

Juice nodded slowly. "Five years ago I would have never thought I'd even have a chance with you, regardless if we ever saw each other again. I was sold on the thought that we were over and would never be together ever again."

"The world works in mysterious ways." She moved off his lap and stood up. "I want a hug babe." She held her arms open wide and looked at Juice. "Up!"

He hopped up and walked into her embrace, holding her tightly against him as he walked them towards the pool and pushed her in. "You know I love it when you're wet." He laughed when she swam to the edge and lifted herself slowly out. "You look good babe." He held her again and pressed a kiss to her lips and smirked. "I love you."

Bri shook her head. "I love you too." She hugged him and smiled. "I didn't wanna get wet though… I'm back to getting my fake tan and you probably ruined it!" She chuckled.

Juice scrunched up his face. "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Good! You don't need a fake tan! You tan pretty well without the need for chemicals." He laughed and poked at her stomach and shrugged. "So, we're waiting like two years until we try for baby number two?"

She shook her head. "Remember the trouble I got into for using motor oil as suntan lotion?" She looked at her body and shrugged. "Two years? I never wanna go through pregnancy again it was terrible."

"No, no." He shook his head and picked her up, draping her over his shoulder. "Two years and you'll be having a little girl for me… We'll name her something cute like Inari or Gypsy or some weird shit like that." He squeezed the back of her thighs and laughed. "We're going to be one big ass, happy family."

Bri laughed. "A big ass happy family huh? I could handle that." She nodded and poked his lower back. "But we're going to have to rethink the name of this daughter that you want because I'm not entirely sold on Inari or Gypsy… In fact I think Inari means Gypsy."

Juice dropped her on the sofa before sitting down next to her and lacing his fingers through hers. "No, Inari is Japanese, it's like foxes or some shit, like the spirit of fertility or something… It also means successful one. That's what I want for our daughter, or her to be successful in life, just like her mama."

"Pump the brakes… We need to get shit settled with the four of us now before we even think of adding another kid to the equation." She shrugged. "Javi and Moni come first, then we get our shit together and all that, then we can talk about another baby."

He nodded slowly before standing back up and pulling the brunette to her feet. "Come on, I got a family activity we can handle now." He tugged her towards the stairs and let his hand rest on her lower back as they walked up the stairs slowly. "It's a fun activity and even Javi can participate." He moved inside the nursery and picked up Javier before doubling back to Monica's room and finding the space empty.

Bri shrugged her shoulders. "She's probably in our bed again." She headed towards their bedroom and smiled at seeing the brunette in the middle of the large bed. "Move over! We're coming to cuddle." She walked to the bed and laid down, pulling Monica to her as Juice settled down on the other side of the seven year old, resting Javier on his chest. "So, cuddling is the family activity?" She cocked an eyebrow at the man and smiled.

Juice smirked. "Yeah, it's the perfect family activity." He nodded slowly as he reached out and caressed Bri's cheek. "This is our perfect little family. It's what we always wanted, a mom, dad, two kids and just absolute peace and quiet as a Disney movie played in the background and we just laid in bed, enjoying being in the presence of each other. It's amazing. We're making dreams come true one day at a time with each other. I couldn't have imagined this any other way with anyone else. I'm happy you three are my family. I'll cherish this forever and thank you universe for making sure I was fated with the most amazing woman ever." He looked at Bri and smiled at her and wiped away the tears that were sliding down her cheeks. "Those better be happy tears…" He chuckled when she nodded her head yes. "Good, now let's just lay here and enjoy this peace and time with each other."


	50. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"_You're gorgeous." Juice looked at Bri as she glared at him. "I'm serious babe, you look gorgeous right now." _

_Bri rolled her eyes, clutching her husband's hand even harder as she worked through another round of pushing. "I can't believe I'm doing this again… I thought I told you I wasn't going to go through this shit ever again Juice!" She growled as she stopped the pushing and caught her breath before beginning to push once more. _

_He laughed and pressed the cold towel on her forehead with his free hand and shrugged. "I told you, give it a few years and we'd be having a little girl named Inari…" _

"_I hate you so much right now! I'm getting my tubes tied right after this. I'm not having any more babies. Three is enough." She hissed as she gave one final push. _

"_You did good, really good." Juice kissed her and smiled as the nurse held up their daughter. "Inari is beautiful babe…" He moved around and cut the umbilical cord and smiled proudly. "We have a gorgeous daughter to add to Monica." _

"_I wanna hold her." Bri looked at her husband and smiled before directing her attention to the nurse who placed the baby on her chest. "God, she's perfect… Looks exactly how Monica did when she was born. All light brown hair and big eyes. I'm so in love with her right now." She wiped away her tears and nodded. "You're going to love your big brother and sister, you're going to love meeting your aunts and uncles." _

_He couldn't but help but smile at the sight of Bri and Inari, the way his wife was looking at their daughter made his eyes well up with tears. "You did amazing… I'm going to go let everyone now that she's here and bring in the kids to meet their baby sister." He kissed Bri's forehead and smiled before walking out of the room and straight to the waiting room. "She's here!" He cheered, looking at his brothers who started to cheer. _

"_Congrats man." Happy gave Juice a pat on the back as he held Monica's hand tightly. "She's been going out of her mind wanting to see the kid…" _

"_I wanna see her now, can I?" Monica looked at Juice, seeing him nod once, she took off for the hospital room. _

"_I guess she's excited to see the baby." Juice smiled as Javier walked over to him and wrapped his arms around his legs. "I missed you too Javi… You ready to see the baby? You got a little sister to look out for now… You, Jacey and Camryn can come in and meet Inari. She's going to be looking like Bri and Monica from the looks of it." _

"_Thank God for that, you got one ugly mug kid." Happy smirked as they started towards the room, he glanced back making sure Jacey and Camryn were following behind him. _

_Jacey entered the room before Happy and Camryn, her blue eyes falling to Bri and her kids squeezed into the hospital bed. "Bri, she's beautiful." She looked down at the baby girl and smiled. "I'm proud of you for doing this shit again." _

"_Thanks Jacey." Bri smiled at her best friend. "Already decided this is officially the last kid, I'm getting the factory shut down before I leave this hospital." She chuckled and looked at Happy and Camryn. "It's okay, she's not going to bite you two. I swear, they're one in the same." She smiled at Happy. "You were wrong Hap, she looks nothing like her dad." _

_Happy nodded and smirked. "Thankfully, priss." He looked down at the baby and shrugged. "Looks like my girl Monica." _

_Monica smiled. "That's all me right there… She looks exactly the way I did when I was a baby. She's pretty." She ran a hand over her little sister's hair and nodded. "Baby Inari, I'm calling you Eenie." _

_Everyone laughed and shook their heads at the nickname. The mood in the room familial and calm as they all talked and smiled. They had come a long way, ups and downs, arguments and breakups, but they had managed to come out of it, strong and bonded together in a way they never thought they would. "Here's to family and us making it work now that everything is settled and calm with us and the club." Juice spoke softly. "I love you all." _

"_To family." Bri nodded. "Also to Jacey and Happy because you just got another godchild." She laughed at the look on their faces. "Or not… Maybe I'll give Elijah and his wife the honors this time since you have two of the three already Jacey." _

"_Yeah, two is enough! Your kids are a handful babe." Jacey laughed and kissed Bri's head. "Let me hold Eenie before she gets tainted by everyone else." She smiled and accepted the child and cradled her closely. "Makes me kinda want another one." _

_Happy shook his head frantically. "Yeah, hand the baby back. The last thing Cam and I need is Jacey getting baby fever!" _

_Bri laughed and shook her head. "Let her bond with her niece before everyone else comes in and loves on her." She watched her sister smile and talk to the newborn and smiled widely. "Loves Jacey already." _

_**SOA**_

_Juice squeezed into the hospital bed beside Bri, Inari on his chest as Monica and Javier were squeezed in on the other side of their mom. "This is peaceful… I think I'm having a moment of deja vu." He chuckled and looked at his daughter before looking at his wife. "Didn't we do this when Javi was a couple months old?" _

_Bri laughed and nodded. "Yeah, perfect family time… This time around we're married and even more in love. We finally got our shit together completely. It's perfect and amazing. I'm glad we made it babe." _

_He nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad we made it too." He laced his left fingers through hers and smiled. "This is what I've always wanted, the perfect family with the perfect woman and we've managed to make it happen. I couldn't be any happier than I am right now. I love you Bri." _

"_I love you too Juice." She smiled and kissed his cheek before freeing her hand from Javier's grip and rubbing Inari's back. "This is absolute perfection." _

_Juice smiled. "Nothing can take this from us ever. As long as we have each other, we have the world. I give you my word that this is going to continue to be forever. We're going to last forever. You, Monica, Javier and Inari… You four are the only things I absolutely need in life." He kissed her and nodded slowly. "This is endgame and we've made it." _

* * *

**_AN: Since there's not a sequel, I had to give you guys a glimpse into their future and their happily ever after. It absolutely sucks that the story is over and that we won't have anymore cute and fluffy Bri and Juice moments but hey, I had a fun ride with you guys and I hope you all enjoyed it. I do have to give special thanks to Bray and Stordec23 for always reviewing EVERY chapter that you've read and putting up with my nonsense and the ups and downs. Also thank you to the various other readers who have left feedback, it was appreciated.  
_ **

**_Like I said before, it sucks that there won't be a sequel but I can't put in time or effort for another story to flop on this site. I do love writing and I write these stories mostly for myself but as a writer I have to do what's going to be best with my time and posting another story on this site wouldn't be best for me or my time. I'm sorry guys but if you really wanted this series to continue then more than a handful of you would have taken the time out to leave some kind of indicator that you were reading and enjoying this story. _**

**_Also, if you have any questions or wanna know why I ended it the way I did then feel free to PM me. _**


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